Stone Cold Puzzle Pieces
by Rightor
Summary: When a suspicious case in Senoia, Georgia sparks the interest of Colette Singer, former best friend of the Winchester brothers, she agrees to team up with Sam and Dean and her father, Bobby Singer. Having to put all the things of the past and to ignore the tension that's claustrophobically suffocating is something Cole realizes she must do, otherwise it may result in someone dead.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A lot of the story prompts I've been given recently involved a original character being added into the Supernatural plot line, and considering this opens a lot of possiblities to creating more stories, I've decided to make my own OC series! This is my first ever attempt so please excuse errors. Includes a bit of romance between Dean and Colette Singer that'll later become a conflict of its own in stories down the line, but as of now, I hope you enjoy and please leave a review and comment! :)**

 **Seven Years Ago:**

"You almost got us all killed in there." Dean snarled as Colette swallowed her nerves and dropped her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Dean, I just thought if-"

"That's your problem! You think! You can't think! If you think, you hesitate, and if you hesitate, you die. And today, that's exactly what happened but instead you almost dragged Sammy with you. Do you know how much danger you were in, Colette, when you were reloading your gun? You could've been attacked at any given moment!" By now, the nineteen year old was yelling, the veins in his neck apparent and his fists beginning to clench.

"I... I'm sorry." She whispered, her head bowed submissively as Sam, who sat on the couch next to them holding his arm that was gashed and bleeding, looked to his friend and felt a ping of pity hit him.

"Dean, come on. This was one of Cole's first hunts, lay off."

"Lay off?" Dean growled questioningly, "Look at your arm! That monster practically shredded the muscles in there! It'll be a miracle if I can even stop the damn bleeding, Sam!"

Sam knew there wasn't anything his fifteen year-old self could say to calm his brother down. Colette Singer, who was a year older than himself, had screwed up big time but it wasn't all her fault. Dean was too busy fighting off nine other different wolves to notice what was happening behind him, but after Cole ran out of bullets, she began wacking the beasts upside the head with the butt of the gun. When that didn't stop them, she tried to reload the sleeve but ended up taking too long. Sammy, who happened to be a few feet from her, quickly ran to her aid and began shooting off the werewolves that dared to hurt her, only to be mauled from behind and have his arm torn open.

"I didn't mean to get distracted! I just- the bullets..." She trailed off quietly under the intense gaze of Dean Winchester.

In the years that she had known the brothers, never had she experienced the eldest brother with such ferocity and anger. Well, that's a lie. He once got into this massive fight with his father, but she had never experienced this heavy of an emotion from him being directed towards her. And now that she was the victim of the next brutal scolding, she could see why so many hunters either avoided the Winchester or decided to stay on his good graces.

She was especially nervous under his infuriated watch because he was one of her best friends and seeing him so angry for a reason she caused only added that much more weight on her shoulders. Cole had practically grown up with the brothers as her father, Bobby Singer, and the boys' father, John Winchester, worked in the same line of business which they later learned was hunting monsters. While John was away on hunts, he'd dump his boys over at Bobby's and keep them there for days at end, therefore the kids were together for years. As time progressed and John's dropping-off's became more frequent, Cole became more excited to see her new friends, the same with the boys, and eventually the three of them were closer than close.

Unfortunately, John let them begin to hunt a lot sooner than Bobby allowed Colette to. That meant that the playdates became less often and she didn't see them as much as before. That also meant she was stuck answering dumb phone calls from stupid sheriffs and coroners clarifying Agents Smith and Lionel or Agents Reynolds and Peterson. Because she was so unexperienced with hunting, she was bound to make a few mistakes on her first which Dean had already taken into consideration, however there were a lot more werewolves than estimated which made the hunters reluctantly split up that way the werewolves were evened out between the hunters; seven would follow Dean leaving five to chase Sam and four to attack Cole.

"I'm sorry, Dean." She repeated for the third time, not once reverting her eyes from the ground.

The older brother shook his head in response to her apology and growled, "Maybe it's best if you work the phone's after all."

That line alone hit a nerve in her body where her eyes snapped upwards and narrowed, "Woah," her guilt washed away, "that was my first gig. You can't expect me to be perfect, Dean."

"I can expect you to know how to reload a pistol though, no?"

Cole stood a bit straighter, crossing her arms and huffing, "I've never been put under that pressure and adrenaline rush before, alright? I got scared."

Dean scoffed, "Scared? Hunters don't get scared."

"What're you implying?" Cole growled, and when the Winchester didn't repond but rose his eyebrows slightly in response, she glowered, "You sound like your father."

The older brother snarled deeply, "Don't bring my father into this."

"Guys, why don't we just-" Sam started only to be cut off by a vicious "Shut up!" by the both of them.

"Don't say I'm not a hunter."

"Well, I was taught it was rude to lie to a lady."

"Yet, you do it all the time to the chicks at the bars." She huffed.

Sam watched both their blood pressures rise as their faces began to turn red with anger.

"You know, you're the person in the wrong here, don't try to flip it on me, alright? _You_ almost got yourself and Sammy killed, not the other way around, Colette. Trust me. for all of our sakes, it's better if you stay put and answer calls."

"I'm not a damn dog, Dean. Sorry, unlike you, I don't obey commands."

Dean snarled, his fists clenched, "Fine! Go out there and get yourself killed! You'll be doing us all a damn favor!"

He paused, his eyes widening as he dropped his fists and stepped back, her own eyes growing wide as tears began to form, her mouth gaping open as she choked on breath. Sam froze in his spot, his oxygen flow being stopped in his throat as he stared with disbelief at Dean.

"Cole, I didn't mean-"

"Tell my father I said goodbye." She whispered, her voice low as she walked out the room, towards her own room as she stuffed a few things in a bag and walked back towards the boys, attempting to get to the front door.

Sam stood as Dean tried to stand in front of her path, his entire body language completely altering as his chest began to restrict, "Cole, please, I didn't mean it, I swear."

Cole wiped a few tears away as she shoved past him, giving Sam a quick kiss on the cheek before starting towards the door. She was stopped when Sam gently grabbed her arm and swallowed, "Cole, please stay. Ignore him, he's an idiot. We need you."

She smiled lightly, tears tracing her cheeks as she shook her head and gave him a quick hug, his own arms wrapping around her tightly to keep her from escaping for a few more seconds than she anticipated before she pursed her lips, her eyes turning redder, "No, no you don't." Her eyes looked to Dean's as she swallowed, "You really don't."

Cole quickly turned for the door and walked out, the February snow drifting softly from the sky. Dean rushed out the front door after her, screaming her name as he raced after her, but by the time he was at her side, she was slamming her car door shut and was driving off.

"Colette! Cole, please!" His voice was getting hoarse from the wind and snow and his head was pounding, but he didn't care. He needed her back. "Colette!" He cried, the car turning the corner and disappearing into the night.

Dean debated about getting in his own car and driving after her but after a few moments, he shook his head. He wiped the tears away that were practically frozen onto his cheeks and swallowed down his doubts. She'd be back tomorrow, for sure. She... She just had to be.

But she wasn't. She didn't show up the day after the fight, or the day after that, or the day after that. Dean spent weeks just sitting outside, waiting for her car to roll up and him to be able to hug her and apologize. He didn't mean it, good God he didn't mean it, yet here he was suffering the consequences of it.

With her leaving not only brought him horrific guilt, but also Bobby's interogations. To his knowledge, his babygirl was there, went on a hunt, and then wasn't there. Immediately assuming the worse, he went ape on the boys screaming and shouting how they should've watched out for her and what not, but thankfully Sam calmed him down enough to hear what really happened. When he did, though, he wasn't any better. All his previous anger was directed to Dean as he began yelling and snarling. Eventually, Bobby died down and they instantly went to work to track her.

Colette wasn't stupid. She didn't have her phone on her, made sure to break the tracker in her car, and to disable any other devices that'd show her family her location. Honestly, if they thought they'd be better off if she was dead, then so be it. And sure, maybe it was Dean who said it, but still, she refused to go back. No, she'd do this by herself. She was fine. She... she was fine.

 **Present:**

Sam groaned, turning over in his bed as his shaggy hair swept over his forehead. The boys were stashed at this horrible, crappy motel in Northern Montana and the bed Sam was sleeping on proved to be just as bad as the town and motel they were in. The people there were rude and arrogant, the weather was freezing cold, and this stupid motel room was absolutely horrible. The bed felt like needles and rocks and his back was so sore he could barely move.

He did get up however at the sound of gulping and turned his head to see his brother, two empty beer bottles next to his bed and half of one in his hand, the glass pressed to his lips as his eyes were squeezed shut.

"Seven-" Dean hiccuped, "seven years."

"Dean." Sam growled, sitting up as he snatched the bottle from his brother and shook his head, "It's not even eight in the morning, why the hell are you drinking?"

"Seven years, Sammy." He whimpered lightly, grabbing the bottle back and throwing his head back as the liquid burned his throat.

It then clicked in his head and he sighed. It was something they did every year, the day she left. They went to a bar and got completely wasted. Unfortunately, her departure wasn't like a death where you greived for awhile and then got used to her presence and laugh and goofy grin not being there. No, no, hers was a lot worse. The boys and her were close, and she was the one of the few people they considered family. Family for the Winchesters was something extremely important, so when she left, that took a huge impact on them. Not only that, but when someone's dead, you know they're _dead_. They're somewhere- Heaven, Hell, who even knows- and they're safe, but with her... they didn't know.

Every day, in the backs of their heads, they worry about getting a phonecall saying Colette Singer was mauled by a wendigo or sucked dry by a vamp or hit by a fucking plane. They were constantly worrying if she was alright, if she was abducted by aliens or being tormented by demons or dead on the side of a road, and that worrying was absolutely horrible. It couldn't be healthy either, for sure.

So, in memory of her and to send their prayers that she's alright somewhere, they spend that day at some bar drinking their worries and memories away because the day she left, she took a piece of them with her that they had a hard time functioning without.

"Dean, you're supposed to wait until we get to the bar."

The older brother shrugged, "Oh well. It's nine PM somewhere."

Sam shook his head as he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes and looked to his brother who had his eyes shut as he chugged the liquor. He was honestly amazed at Dean's ability to hiding his emotions because within the seven years Colette has been MIA, he hadn't shown a single strand of emotion towards it. Sam and Bobby both broke down mulitple times at some point, begging for her to somehow hear them and come back, and guess who was there rubbing their backs? Dean. Sam's older brother hadn't cried or really done anything with Cole's leaving and he wasn't sure if that was good or not. He knew it wasn't healthy as his brother was obviously hiding all of it under gallons of alcohol, but he also knew if he went to approach Dean about the issue, the older brother would laugh at him and dismiss the thought as if it was the most absurd thing in the world.

After Sam had gotten ready, he got Dean out of bed and sobered him up a bit before throwing him in the Impala and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Hey, this is my car, Sammy. I drive it." Dean slurred slightly as he glared at Sam.

"You're intoxicated. I'm not allowing you to drive Baby in this state."

Dean scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest like a child and shook his head with disbelief as he frustratedly stared out the window, annoyed his brother was so difficult. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

It took a few minutes, but they got there in one piece. Dean immediately was sitting at the bar, ordering some heavy shots of alcohol and ignoring everything else around him. He wasn't wasted, but he was a little fuzzed up and Sam was sure once those shots he was downing began to work, he'd be a goner. Ordering his own whiskey, he began to chug his own liquor and for awhile everything was good and subtle. After a few minutes, Sam decides to take a quick visit to the bathroom, but as he walked out he realized the bar has gotten quiet. He looked to Dean only to see his brother staring in awe, the spoon that he was using to mess around with his drink being stuck in his mouth like an idiot as his eyes were locked on something.

Sam turned his attention to the thing everyone was staring at and almost tumbled into someone while walking back to his seat in shock. There a woman, who was quite short but had such a vibe it made her seem inches taller than she was, walked towards the bar. This caught everyone's attention A, the majority of the girls in this town avoided this particular bar because this was where the gangs and bad-repted guys hang out and B, she was smoking hot. She had the curves in the right places with tight leggings, nice AC-DC shirt on, and a flannel, long brown hair that was drawn up into a ponytail, thick and shiny and soft looking. She had piercing green eyes and a small, freckled nose with soft but striking features and a sharp-ass jawline.

As Sam took a seat next to his brother, he could see why the entire bar had shut up and all the attention had turned. She was something made in heaven, that's for sure.

The bartender chuckled at the gawking idiots in the crowd and walked over to the lady as she took a seat a few down from Dean.

"Look's like ya' got a few admirers." The bartender grinned as she took a quick scan of the drunk morons and shook her head slightly, "They're just drunk, Lou. Regular please."

He rose his eyebrows and sighed, "You're goin'a get liver cancer if you keep drinkin' like this."

She chuckled, "I'll take my chances. Besides, it's not like I'm here everyday. Only like... three times a week."

"Yeah, and on those days you can totally obliterated."

She laughed, "That is totally not true!"

"Fine, fine. Whatever ya' say. Scotch on rocks with twist, yes?"

"Yup. Hey'a, Lou, I was just wondering if you've felt any cold spots around here lately or... I don't know, anything strange?"

He looked up suspiciously from the drink he was making and turned to her, neither her or Lou realizing the brothers a few seats away were just as curious as he was to understand what she was talking about and were eavesdropping, "What'ya mean? Like Casper the friendly ghost?"

She shrugged lightly and grinned downwards, "Don't make me sound like an idiot, Lou. I'm just asking. Things move by themself, the lights flicker, anything out of the ordinary?"

The guy sighed and went back to his drink, "I don't know what you're smoking, Colette, but if your old man were'ta see you rantin' bout' cold spots and ghost mojo, he'd hit ya' upside the head with his shotgun. Aye, how is Singer by the way?"

Cole went to bite out a nasty comment about her father when her head spun towards the two guys she had previously paid no attention to as one of them, the one with shorter hair, spit out his beer and went into a choking fit. The taller and longer-haired one was patting the other guy's back, but his eyes were fixed on her and mouth gaped slightly. Furrowing her eyebrows, she shook her head and looked back to the bartender. They looked awfully familiar.

"Look, you got anything strange happening around here?" She asked again, a little more urgently as she was beginning to cross out the names that came to mind in her head when looking at those two and the names that were becoming more apparent weren't people she wanted to really talk to.

"I can't say that I do. Sorry. Hey, the drink's on the house. And tell Mark I said hi." When she made a small frown to his comment, he swallowed, "He's still your boyfriend, right?"

"Of course." She plastered on a bright smile and began to sip on the drink until it was completely gone.

"Drive safe, alright?" He warned with a stern finger jab in her direction before smiling slightly as his fake, serious exterior cracked.

Cole grinned politely, nodding in response and heading for the door. She glanced over her shoulder to see the other men, that tall and shorter one, stand as well, so she quickened her pace to the car.

She had just hit the halfway mark in the parking lot, she truly thought she'd make it, when a loud, deeper than she remembered but beyond familiar voice called her name. She stopped dead in her tracks, closing her eyes and breathing in before continuing to walk towards her car. There was no way in hell she'd-

"Colette, is it really you?" One of the voices called as she began to hear footsteps grow closer to her.

She was done. There was no way sneaking out of this would work so she decided to just turn around and face them. A quick chat and run, right? No, no... maybe she'd just-

A hand rested on her shoulder and she whipped around, swallowing her nerves as she was greeted with the distinct features of Sam Winchester and blurted out, "Me llamo no Colette. Me llamo... um... Rachel. Si, estoy Rachel. Oh! Mira la hora." She laughed nervously, waving quickly, "Adios!"

Cole turned to leave only to be stopped by a hand holding onto her wrist gently. She took a breath and turned back to him, instead this time Dean was right next to Sammy. She let out a few curses before looking up at the two and sighing, "Alright, you caught me. What's up?"

"What's up?" Sam snorted, "You've been gone for -how many years?- and your first words to us are _what's up_?"

"What? It's not like we necessarily ended on great terms." She glanced at Dean briefly as she shuffled uncomfortably, "Besides I-"

The boys yelled and jumped back in shock as her eyes bursted open and her body froze in time. She felt a surge of power, unwanted energy zap through her and just as quickly as she had jolted awake to the unpleasant sensation, she was out cold on the hard pavement, the last thing she could recall being a bright light around her that casted dancing shadows on the boys' faces as they stared in horror.


	2. Chapter 2

Colette's head was aching so hard she was sure it had to have been split in half. Everything hurt, actually. Her limbs refused to cooperate with what her brain was telling them to do and her eyelids seemed to have been hot glued shut. Nothing was moving- nothing _could_ move. It was a pain she had never experienced before and all she wanted to do was scream, announce to the world how much torture she was going through as her muscles sizzled with shocks of electricity. Her blood was raging and bubbling and she was certain her organs were probably boiling in the seering liquid, but her vocal cords refused to work and strained against the slightest movement.

She tried to focus her attention else where, anything else but the extruciatingly painful jolts of energy that zipped through her body. For a few moments, she was positive she'd never find something that'd take her mind away from the god-awful sensations that were making themselves known around her body when she heard some voices. Her mind was alert, screaming at every muscle in Cole's body to move and allow her to run, but instead she remained still. Motionless. As the voices grew closer, she began to put voice with face and soon enough her muscles released the tension building up in them and she mentally sighed.

It was just those idiotic Winchesters and her father. Yipee.

"What, so you're just tellin' me my daughter's standing in a parking lot outside of a bar when all of a sudden a bolt of lightning strikes her?" Bobby snarled as he glared at the two.

"Yeah, that sums it up." Sam shrugged as his focus turned to Colette who laid in the same position as she was in when Dean had tucked her in.

"You know how absurd that sounds, right?"

"Just the other day you were talking about how you ganked a Leprechaun after dropping a can of salt and then stole it's money and you want to tell us Cole being struck by lighting is weird?" Dean questioned as he shook his head and walked towards the sleeping girl.

"Damn it," Bobby growled, "she's gone for seven entire years and then decides to show up unconscious and barely breathing!"

Sammy, noticing his brother's lingering stare and sadden eyes on Colette, looked to Bobby and offered, "We can head over to that liquor store down by that old church and get some beer. Clear our heads and brainstorm ideas to help Cole. Dean can stay watch and see if she wakes up."

Bobby thought it over before sighing and nodding. There wasn't anything exciting or eventful happening and he doubted she'd wake up within the half an hour they'd be gone, so the two of them headed out the door.

Dean sighed once more, this time tons heavier and full of a shit-ton emotions. He sat down on the couch next to her feet, just looking for any signs that she was conscious or... or something. He was also staring in shock as his best fri- ex... ex best-friend who he hadn't seen in seven years after their fight was lying on the couch as if it was any other day. Or at least it looked like she was just sleeping there, rather than actually being struck by lighting and all, but still. He hadn't seen her in _seven_ years and taking her all in at once, not to mention taking in the part she may not ever wake up again, was a little brain-boggling, even for him.

Despite everything though, despite her maybe being dead in five minutes or five days, despite her being so _different_ to when he had last saw her, his head kept wandering back to the fight. She was willing to speak Spanish to get out of talking with them. Hell, he didn't even know if the Spanish she had played off was even correct Spanish, but it just went to show how much she really didn't like them. Now, he was alone with her and although she may not hear him and although she's unconscious and _although_ she can't respond, it still was an opportunity to apologize, so that's what he decided to do.

"Look, Colette," He started, his voice beginning to grow hoarse as the fact that his best friend may be _dead_ soon took over, "I'm sorry for what I said all that time ago. I didn't mean it and I know I was a dick, but I need you to forgive me because... because you and Bobby are really the only family Sammy and I got and our friends are droppin' like flies." Dean bit his lip, hoping for any sign of movement, but nothing. So, he continued, "I seriously need you to wake up cause' Bobby's gunna have a field day on us both if you decide to cut the string, Cole. Am I allowed to call you that?" He thought for a moment before nodding and agreeing with himself, "I'm going to call you that- even if you don't want me to. I gave you that nickname in the first place anyway, so."

He knew he was beginning to sound childish but he didn't care. He was hoping it'd receive a laugh from her or some groggy insult or tired comment, but instead... nothing. He slumped against the wall the bed was up against and pushed the back of his head against it closing his eyes and staring up at the ceiling. How... how could she go from MIA to critical condition in point five seconds right in front of his face.

Dean's only wish for now, though, wasn't for her to accept his apology or talk to her father and sort things through... but to wake the fuck up because he wouldn't be able to live without her. Sure, he had survived pretty well without her for seven years, but that's with the knowledge that she could be alive. But if she dies now, and he has to live his life knowing she's dead and he couldn't do anything, he'd loose it. She was the only family he- Sammy and him had in dark times and for that Dean was in debt to her. That also meant that she meant more to him than just some pretty chick with a good back hand and kick too because unlike some of the female hunters he knew and had to work with on occasion, they grew up together. And sometimes, to his dismay, he realized how much he needed her, loved her; not that he'd ever admit it.

So there he was, sitting helplessly as he watched the slow rise of her stomach.

No, this wasn't helping anything. He growled and stood, frustrated with the fact he _was_ helpless. Useless. What could he do? She was struck by fucking _lightning_. How the hell does that crap even happen? He began to pace, eventually finding himself at the fridge, cracking open a cold beer and beginning to chug the substances. Getting drunk seemed like an awful good idea right about no-

"W-Who knew Dean Winchester c-could be sucha' s-sap?" She hissed out, pain shooting up and down her body as she sat up.

Dean froze, spinning his head to be greeted with the pale-faced, tired-looking Colette who sat grasping her side and breathing heavily. He immediately set his drink down and rushed to her side.

"Colette, lay down, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

She waved her hand dismissively, turning her body and standing up. Unfortunately, her knees thought that this idea was too much work and decided to give out underneath her. She buckled over only to be caught by two arms who held her upwards against himself, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"You were just hit by lighting, for Christ's sake, sit back down." Dean scolded as he set her back down on the couch, returning to the fridge to get a cup of water and ice packs.

She rolled her eyes in response, wanting to stand up but reluctantly obeying his command, "Yeah, whatever."

He snorted at her casualness towards the fact she was struck as if it was just a, oh yeah, I was _just_ struck by lighting, no biggie, and walked back to her. He took a seat next to her despite her little shuffle away at first and he looked to her with concern, "Where does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Thanks." She huffed, taking the glass from him and chugging it, placing it on the counter and going to stand up again. "I gotta' go before my Dad gets back. Nice talk."

As she went to stand again, so did Dean, and he was able to catch her from falling again as the muscles in her legs all turned to liquid and had her collapse into him. She cursed under her breath, shrugging off his hands that were stabalizing her and grumbling, "Is there a wheelchair anywhere?"

Dean growled, getting annoyed with her persistence to leave. Didn't she realize the magnitude of the fact she was _hit by lightning_. He still didn't know how many more times he had to emphasize this before it went through her head. That's not just an every day occurance! "This isn't a damn retirement home, Colette. You're obviously not alright and when Sammy and Bobby get back, we'll figure out what to do next."

"No, no, no. There's no we, alright? I don't want any association with you people, I've left this life behi-"

"Then why were you asking about cold spots?"

"Because," She swallowed, trying to think of an excuse, "I just wanted to make sure the bar I'd be drinking at for a few days was anti-ghost."

Dean rose an eyebrow and scoffed, shaking his head at the desperation she had to make up such a stupid lie and sighed, "You're _hurt_ , Colette, and I don't care if you hate me. I'm not letting you wander off in this state. Just cause' you decided you wanted to go doesn't mean my responsiblities of making sure you're safe are gone as well. I still-"

"Stop pretending like you didn't do anything wrong, Dean, alright?" She growled, "You said I was better off dead to this family, so I left. Stop trying to make it seem as if this entire thing was _my_ idea and that I was more than happy to leave. I don't need your help, I've been fine on my own for seven years, thanks."

"That's not what I meant Cole, I just-"

"Colette." She breathed, reverting her eyes to hide the pain that she felt constrict her chest as she mumbled, "Only my family can call me Cole."

She didn't hate him. Well, she wanted to, she really wanted to, but she couldn't. She didn't like him... or that's what she told herself, but something she knew for certain was that if she was stuck around him, she'd end up forgiving him. It was something that she considered a weakness about herself. The ability to not hold grudges was something she wasn't a fan of about herself ever since Dean's lovely comment. At first she hated him, but as time went by, she became more upset that they weren't around. Regardless, she wasn't necessarily happy when she told Dean he wasn't family because he always would be. Even if she didn't agree with it at the moment.

It wasn't any better for Dean. It just felt as if someone had slammed their hand into his chest and tore away his heart. His chest felt tighten and his head was beginning to spin, but he knew he deserved it. He didn't deserve to be considered her family. Sighing, he bit his lip and stood, "I'll call Bobby and Sam, let them know your awake."

Cole watched as the Winchester turned and disappeared around the corner. She sat there for a few minutes, contemplating whether or not she was really up to seeing her father and best friend before she forced herself to stand, despite her screaming legs, and start for the door. Dean, sure, she could face. But not Sammy and Bobby. She had caused them unfair pain and that was on her. It wasn't them who said it and even at the time she knew they'd probably disagree with what Dean said- Hell, Sam _did_ disagree with what Dean had said- but still she decided to go. Without a doubt, she knew her father was hurt along with Sam. The messages she got, the texts and emails and phonecalls she received just went to prove it. Not even just from Bobby, but from Sam and sometimes Dean too; they were heartwrenching and on multiple occasions she had gotten in her car and driven a few miles before always turning back.

Everytime she was in that car, foot pressed on the pedal and driving above the speed limit to get home faster, guilt speared her chest. The amount of grief she had caused them was something that weighed on her shoulders every damn day, and yeah, call her a coward, but she wouldn't face it. _Couldn't_ face it.

"Yeah, she woke up ten or so minutes ago." Dean nodded from inside the dining room.

He sighed as the combination of Sam and Bobby's voices collaged together. Within seconds of the two battling over who got the phone, he had lost audio with the mike on Bobby's phone and there was just indistinct noises and inaudible murmurs. After a few minutes of the pointless bickering, Bobby regained control of the phone with an aggravated huff from Sam on the line and spoke, "Get her on the phone, would you? I'd like to talk to my daughter."

"Yeah, sure." Dean complied and began to walk towards the livingroom, "She's a bit shaken up and all, so it might be pullin' nails trying to get her to tal-"

His voice fell flat in his throat as he turned the corner. He should've known. God _dammit_ , he should've known.

Bobby, noticing the heavy breathing beginning on the other line, furrowed his eyebrows, glanced at Sam, and snorted into the phone, "Dean, boy, what is it?"

When the older Winchester didn't respond, Bobby sat straighter in the driver seat of his car and growled, "Dean, you'd better start talking. What the hell's goin' on over there."

"She... She's gone."


	3. Chapter 3

"Gone?" Bobby snarled, taking a sharp turn off the street and U-turning back to the house, "Boy, what'ya mean she's gone?!"

Sam, who seconds ago was sitting boredly in passenger's seat, was now alert and was staring at the older hunter with shock. Gone? What did that mean? Dead? MIA, again? He needed answers. They were barely gone an hour, and she was gone?

"Bobby, I don't _know_. She was there, I leave to call you guys, and when I come back, she isn't!" Dean quickly said, nervous if he didn't get his side of the story out, the older hunter'd never hear it.

"Dammit!" Bobby snapped, slamming his fist against the steering wheel as Sam stared at the phone with confusion and anxiousness.

Two hours. Bobby and the boys had spent two whole hours tearing that house apart when they got home in search for Cole and turned up empty-handed. Shocker.

Bobby turned to Dean, fury painting every contorted line on the man's face as he glared up at the slightly taller, younger hunter, "Dean Winchester, you'd better have one helluva reason you turned your back on my daughter long enough for her to shuffle her way outta' here or so help you God, boy, if-"

Dean rose his hands innocently, placing them out in front of himself almost in a gesture to calm and slow the ranting man down, "Bobby, Bobby, listen." He spoke quickly, trying to defend himself, "She could barely stand on her own let alone walk out a door, so I didn't expect anything of her when I turned my back for _five minutes_. Besides, she couldn't have gone far; she fell into me twice after attempting to stand."

"You allowed her to stand?" Sam asked, exterting himself into the conversation.

"No, she's just really damn stubborn and- you know what, forget it. We have to go find her."

She heaved a deep breath as she slumped into the bar seat for the second time today. Lou, fortunately, was still there when she had slugged herself into the place and immediately began whipping up her drink as she approached her chair at the bar. Colette's walk there wasn't a fun one and by the time she had taken a seat, she was so out of breath that Lou offered her water before any sort of alcohol. He had honestly believed she had ran some sort of marathon and then decided to add the carolies she burned off back with her scotch. The entire walk, rather drag, to Lou's bar was exhausting and tiring and painful and the entire way she kept repeating in her head that she was fine.

I mean, technically speaking, she _was_ fine. Or from the outside it looked like it anyway. She had inspected almost every part of her body and there wasn't a single scratch what so ever, so she had just decided to brush it off. Decided to believe it was all in her head and if she convinced herself that her brain was just freaked, she'd be fine. Cole, the stubborn person she is, refused to think of the internal injuries that might be causing her such severe and agonizing pain and continued with her previous thought of blowing it off. She was struck by lighting. Pft, big deal.

Lou shuffled back to Colette as she tapped her fingers on the long slab of wood impatiently. She was nervous that Dean would barge into the bar at any given moment and come for her, scolding her for leaving and repeating for the millionth time how she was, indeed, _not_ okay. Shaking her head and concluding those absurd thoughts to be paranoia, she gave Lou an appreciative smile as he handed her the drink and smiled back.

"So, ya' came like a bull in a china shop, wanna' tell me what happened?" He asked, turning his back to her as he grabbed a glass and began scrubbing away dirt she couldn't see. Maybe it was a bartender thing.

"No, nothing really. Just... excited for my drink, that's all." Cole grinned as he rose an eyebrow.

His head tipped upwards, however, when the doors bursted open. She froze in her seat, breathing deeply. Oh God. Please. Please, don't be him. She watched with anxiousness as Lou's face twisted up into a smile. Okay, okay... a smile. Lou wouldn't smile at Dean, he barely knew the Winchester. Colette took a breath, turning her head only to be greeted with the relieving sight of her boyfriend, Marcus (Mark) James.

Uneasiness washed over her though as quickly as relief did when she realized it was her boyfriend, _Mark James_. He made eye-contact with her, grinning slightly before strutting over to her and taking the seat right next to her own. Lou chatted up a conversation between the two which brought her some of the relief she had lost back.

Mark, he... he was a good man. Don't get her wrong, God, he was a great man. And maybe that's the reason she's stayed for so long. Like Cole, he was a hunter and had lost his mother at a young age. They had first met when Colette was on her fourth or fifth hunt after she left the boys and her father. She was sure she was hunting wraith and had been impersonating an FBI agent when Mark, who was dressed as an officer, walked up to her and began asking weird questions. Believing he was high or drunk, Cole told him to leave his personal life out of his work life and went to leave only to turn around and begin asking similiar questions, assuming he may've known something about the odd deaths.

After a few of the questions came out of her mouth, she furrowed her eyebrows and scanned him. It was clear to her within a second that he wasn't high or drunk but instead a hunter, like herself. She instantly called him out on it and they bonded, cracked the case, and became amazing friends. They traveled the country for awhile ganking monsters and what not, but some point along the line Mark confessed his feelings for her and they began "dating". The best to the ability they could, at least. It wasn't necessarily the easiest thing to go on dates while being in their line of business, but it didn't dim their spark or ruin their relationship. They were content with how things were and everything seemed to be going great.

That was until Colette actually saw Mark get drunk. Sure, they had gone to bars before after hunts and had a victory beer or two, but she had never seen him get _drunk_ before. Word slur, wobbly walk drunk. Boy, was that a wake up call though. He was a completely different person, screaming and cursing and throwing things. She was scared out of her mind. The next morning, he barely remembered a thing but apologized, explaining that after he lost his mother his father went into a drinking stage and died of an overdose, so alcohol had always hit a soft spot on him. She assumed it wouldn't happened again and tried to forget it, attempting to put everything back together that way everything was perfect again.

But then, a few nights later, he was drinking. He drank and drank and it became more and more frequent until one night, he hit her. Colette didn't know why and couldn't remember for the life of her what she had done to deserve being slapped the way she was that night, but all she knew was that was the last straw. That next morning, she packed her bags and went to leave but then he was on his knees begging her to stay and that he was sorry and it'd never happen again.

Mark was good for awhile and things seemed to be beginning to fit back into place when the damn bastard picked up a bottle and things dove south, _again_. The smart thing to do would've been to leave, but Cole couldn't. He was a good man without the alcohol, an amazing man, and she knew she'd feel horrible if he woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache and sensitive eardrums to an empty bed and some chicken-scratch of a letter explaining why she was gone. So, she resorted to the last thing she could think of and that was just leaving the second he grabbed a glass. Whether it being wine or whiskey, the second liquor entered his mouth she rolled out an excuse and would leave.

So, there she sat silently cursing herself out for leaving the safety of the brothers and her father to come to this bar and be with this maniac who was pumping himself full of his poison and there was nothing she could do about it. This would be the first time since he had hit her that she had seen him get drunk and by the number of drinks he was downing, she was sure to stay extra still that way there was nothing he could pick on and get angry about.

An hour or two pasted and there she sat quietly, refusing to speak except when spoken to as he had once screamed at her for that while intoxicated, and refusing to get up and go as he'd assume her of cheating, again, as he had done when under the influence. Mark was beyond wasted and Lou was a bit tipsy behind the bar himself, but that stupid idiot continued pouring drinks for Cole's already fucked up boyfriend and she knew that now, even if she breathed weirdly, he'd cause a scene about it. Within the hour he's been drunk, he had only snapped at her twice, once for fidgetting too much and another for not drinking her alcohol, but that was what she considered to be good. On average, what she could remember at least, if she got off the hook with seven or eight snaps, she was a happy camper.

Cole, attempting to think of anything but the fact she was scared shitless, realized her legs and body had calmed down. Sure, there was a fizz here and there, but that was it. Nothing that bad and hell, she thought she could actually be fine in anothert twenty or so minutes.

He kept drinking though, and the more and mor he drank, the more she knew his tolerance level decreased along with common sense and reasonableness. He drank more and more and more and she was sure he'd pass out from too much alcohol, but he kept trudging through, laughing it up with Lou and drinking himself into oblivion.

At some point during Lou and his intense conversation on cars, he declared that he had to pee. He got up, practically knocking over his seat and the one next to it before bumping into someone as he attempted to regain his balance, and waddled into the women's room first before being screamed at and running into the men's.

Colette gasped for air the second the men's bathroom door closed and leaned back on her stool. Lord, was she stiff and it felt as if she had been holding her breath for ions. She eased her muscles which she hadn't even realized were tense until now and slouched her in seat a bit, taking the time to relax as she knew the moment he came back out, she would be as still as a statue. Any movement from her now, seeing as he was beyond abliterated, would cause anarchy.

Well, it was either a simple movement from her or Dean fucking Winchester walking through the door that'd cause such pandemonium. With her luck though, there he was, standing in the doorway with a face of worry, anger, and concern flashing through his eyes so quickly she thought he was going to loose his eyesight. Cole quickly ducked, throwing the hood of her sweatshirt over her head to cover the back of it, hoping he hadn't already noticed her and hoping he wasn't-

Colette's breath caught in her throat as she felt a hand spin the stool around. She squeezed her eyes shut like a little kid, herself being quite fuzzy, and peeked through them slightly to see the annoyed and frustrated face of her former friend. He didn't even wait or say hi, but instead grabbed her wrist firmly, but gently, and tugged her to a corner of the bar where it was less populated. Dean narrowed his eyes as hers wandered towards the men's bathroom, praying Mark didn't come out and see that she was gone and instead with this guy he had never seen before.

"What the _hell_ , Colette?" Dean growled lowly as her eyes slowly panned back to him, "I leave for five minutes, not even, and I turn to find you gone! You were barely walking when I checked, so how in God's graces you got here is beyond me, but your father is worried sick and I almost went into cardiac arrest when I saw you missing and poor Sammy is freaking out. You need to come home, Cole."

She nodded quickly, eagerly and nervously as she watched the bathroom door open, "Sure, Dean, whatever. Just- you can't be here right now, alright?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Some random man walked out and she breathed an uneasy breath before locking eyes with Dean, "You can't be here. I'll text you when I need you to get me, okay? Just please, go. I don't want you getting hurt." She whispered quietly, trying her best to talk fast as the door opened again.

Dean was keen to the smallest of things, especially behaviors from the people he grew up with, and immediately picked up on the uneasy breath and the way she hestitated when she said "you getting hurt." As if she meant something else... He shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows tightly, "Are you in trouble? What's wrong? Why can't I be here?"

Another random guy walked out, but she knew for sure the next guy would have to be Mark. Shoving Dean away from her, she shook her head violently and growled, "You don't get it. He'll be pissed if he sees me talking to some guy, alright, so I'll meet you in the car or I'll text you. Please, go!"

Dean growled, "He? Who's he? And I'm just _some guy_ to you?"

She snarled, fear getting the best of her as she tried to walk past him, "Now isn't the time to go protective, Dean. I can't have you being that clingy girlfriend, right now- I need to go."

The older Winchester scoffed, angry that he wasn't getting the full story and moved from her path. She didn't once look back, taking her seat from before and gluing her eyes to the bathroom door. Her foot, which didn't quite reach the ground as the chairs were quite high and she was quite small, 5' 3'' the highest, was fidgetting horribly and that automatically was a key sign for Dean that something was insanely wrong and she was scared. A tapping foot, lip biting, or uncontrollable giggling, were always key give aways to the older brother that Colette was scared. Petrified even, sometimes. He also knew her favorite color was royal blue, she finds it easier to fall asleep if her back's being rubbed, and she can recite every Metallica song written. You learn a lot about someone when you grow up with them.

He kept a skeptical eye on her, watching between Colette and the bathroom. It took a few minutes but eventually this big, well-built dude staggered out and began tripping over his feet towards Cole. It was beyond obvious the poor guy was beyond abliteration and would be _so_ screwed in the morning, but Dean couldn't quite understnad why her foot began tapping against the chair leg even faster and she became stiff as the guy took a seat next to her.

Cole peeked over her shoulder nervously, praying to any sort of God there was that Dean Winchester wasn't here and was gone. Instead, her prayers were rejected and there sat Dean a few tables away, raising an eyebrow at her and shrugging his shoulders. She growled and flapped her hand at him, attempting to shoo the nuisance off. Something he failed to realize was that Mark could go from the most loving human on the Earth to Satan's best friend in point four seconds with even the slightest of movement or sound or... really anything. You could drop a pencil on the ground and he'd loose it. Now imagine if Mark saw someone staring at his girlfriend or his girlfriend making eye contact with someone else. Yeah, even that would set him off.

Surprisingly though, Mark kept his calm. Whether it being that they were in public and he didn't have huge blow-outs in bars and such or it being that Lou was keeping his mind off the fact Cole was having an intense conversation with Dean via face expressions, she wasn't sure, but was thankful it was happening. Eventually, she gave up on Dean and turned around again only to be frozen in spot. She hadn't been paying attention to what him and Lou were talking about, but based on Mark's actions, she was sure she had a good idea.

"Aren't ya' jealous?" Mark grinned as his hand began to ride up her thigh, "I got this while you got... what? Your bar?"

Dean was swirling his cup of whiskey with a straw, mumbling curses under his breath when he decided to check on Colette. He looked up from his cup to have his eyes grow wide. The guy's _hand_ was resting half way up her _thigh_ and she couldn't look any more uncomfortable with it. Colette didn't say anything to the contact, but Dean felt his chest constricting and his fists beginning to clench. Who was he to be touching her? Who was he to be touching her _like_ that? And why the fuck wasn't she doing anything about it?

Mark continued to brag about his girlfriend while Colette shifted weirdly under his hand. It was rested only half way up her thigh which although she let slide, was still a bit too far north for her liking, but if it kept him occupied and he stayed where he was she was sure she'd live. Unfortunately though, that wasn't the case. As he spoke about her to Lou, as if she wasn't even there, his hand began to ride even farther up; as if to show Lou what he could do without getting in trouble. Well, boy, did he have something coming.

"Mark, stop it." She spat as she chugged the rest of her scotch, grabbing the attention of not only Lou and Mark, but Dean as well.

Although Dean, who had been eavesdropping on Mark and Lou's conversation, hated Mark and hated the fact that the comments being said about Colette were coming from another man's mouth, he had to agree with quite a few of them. Mark had been bragging none stop on how hot his girlfriend was and how awesome he'd had to have been in order to "score such a fine little lady". Dean agreed with the fact that Cole was indeed, smokin'. Absoutely smokin'. Like a fucking model from a lingerine ad. Everything, from the shiny, soft looking hair to the sharp jawline and thick eyelashes, just seemed perfect. So yeah, Dean could see where Mark was coming from when he said it, even though he hated that Mark was even saying it in the first place.

Even though Dean had been listening on their conversation, he was more interested on where Mark's hand would go. It was already stationed on the center of her thigh and Dean vowed that if that hand went any farther up than it already was, there'd be problems. When it did start to move, however, and Dean got up to comfront the douche about it, Colette told Mark to stop and held her ground; which got Dean's approval. He grinned and whispered under his breath, "That's my girl," before continuing his intense blinking contest with Mark's stupid hand. Dean wanted to stay out of trouble, but he knew the second Mark's head swung to meet Colette's eyes, there'd definitely be a few. Dean was always good on observing human behavior, especially considering he had to act as a FBI agent the majority of the time and interogate liars, so he could easily spot the anger glistening behind Mark's dark brown eyes as they narrowed.

"We're just having a bit of fun, Cole, no need to get so cranky."

She bit her lip, breathing deeply before wiggling his hand off and shaking her head, "Well, I'm not finding this _fun_ quite entertaining so if you'd keep your hands to yourself that'd be great, thanks."

He snarled, "Where'd this bratty attitude come from? You were fine a second ago!"

Dean stood, his fists beginning to ball again. Is he seriously going to _yell_ at Colette and expect the older Winchester to just lay back and watch?

"Screw this, Mark. I'm leaving." She stood, her legs turning to Jell-O as she gripped the table for support. The pain came jolting up her body again which she attempted to ignore.

"To hell you are," Mark snapped, grabbing her wrist forcefully and pulling her to him. "Where ya' going, _Cole_? Your boyfriend's?" He nodded in Dean's direction, not once breaking eye-contact, "Don't think I didn't see you two."

"Get the hell off of me, you bastard!" Cole growled, twisting her wrist from him and making him stumble back in the process.

Dean was already alert, his muscles tensed and body ready to tackle the guy, so when Mark stomped forward and slammed his hand down on the side of her face, Colette's head being thrown against the side of the bar and began gushing, Dean was already swinging.

Maybe if he wasn't so intoxicated, Dean would've had a harder chance of knocking him out, but within a few punches thrown and received, Mark was lying unconscious on the floor. It took a lot for Dean to stop as the adrenaline and anger pumping through his blood practically screamed for him to keep going, however when he looked up and saw Lou at Cole's side, the towel he had grabbed beginning to seep quickly of blood, he was off of Mark and racing towards Colette.

"I got it from here, thanks." Dean grumbled towards the bartender, not really caring if he came off aggressive and picking Colette up bridal style despite her complaints.

"Dean, I'm fine, I swear. It's just a cut."

He snorted, " _Just a cut_."

Dean brought her outside of the bar, placing her on one of the outside tables belonging to Lou's place and standing between her legs as he began to inspect her wound. "Damn asshole nearly knocked you cold." He muttered.

"It looked like he got a few hits on y- Oh, Dean!" She gasped.

"What?" He asked quickly, backing away thinking he had hurt her or something.

"No, no." She waved him to come closer and when he did, she tugged him even closer until their faces were inches apart. "Your lip's oozing!" Colette shook her head, looking around for something to place on his lip and growling with annoyance. She wouldn't use her already bloodied up towel and there wasn't anything else to use, so she sighed and cupped his jaw, running her thumb underneath his bottom lip. "That's gonna swell overnight."

Colette wasn't expecting an answer, but if she was, she wouldn't have received it. He was mesmerized, in a trance. Dean kept telling himself it was because he was amazed at how much she had grown in seven years and that's the _only_ reason he was staring for as long as he was. It was true though, she had completely changed and he was trying with all his might to compare her to herself seven years ago.

"I'm alright. Come on, Sam and Bobby are probably rampaging the country in search of you. Hold that towel on your head when you get in Baby, and I swear to God, Colette, if you get blood on my Baby's seats, I will make you lick it off."

"That thing still functions?" She mumbled under her breath only to receive a sharp glare.

"Yes, it does, and it's _name_ is Baby."

"And you'd make me lick off the blood?"

He sighed heavily, opening the passenger's door for her as he pointed, "Just get in the damn car."


	4. Chapter 4

For half of the ride, they rode in tense silence before he eventually broke the ice and growled, "Who was that prick, anyway?"

"He's not a prick." Colette spat back, "And if you had just left like I said, he wouldn't have gotten all touchy."

"What, you're saying this is _my_ fault?!"

She scoffed and didn't respond, turning her body and staring out the window. Her head was still throbbing, but she chose to ignore it. See, she was more concerned with how the fuck Mark would get home in one piece. If Dean had just left when she asked, Mark wouldn't have seen them together and wouldn't have began to get handsy; trying to show the older Winchester she was taken. Pft, as if Dean cared. Colette concluded Mark's whole scene to be rather ridiculous as Dean didn't even think of her in that light. Hell, she sometimes had disputes with herself on whether or not he liked her in general.

Once again, the ride shifted into uncomfortable awkwardness before Dean let out a hum of annoyance and turned to her, "Where'd you even meet your _boyfriend_ , anyway?"

The way he said it, as if he was talking about demons or monsters, made Cole grow angrier, but she chose to keep her cool and calmy, simply responded, "Boston."

"Massachusetts?" He snorted, "What the hell were you doin' up there?"

"What's it to you?" She snapped, that calm exterior deteriorating quite quickly. "Look, Dean, we would've been fine, Mark and I, if you had just gone when I told you too. You don't know him like I do and he's sweet and kind and-"

"Colette," He growled, filled with so much raw anger it froze her in rant. Dean couldn't focus on the road and knew he'd end up drifting, so decided to park on the side of the road and completely shifted so now his full attention was placed on her, "he _hit_ you. _Hit_. Bobby would've murdered him, Cole. No exaggeration; there'd be missing reports everywhere. I don't give a tap-dancing fuck what he's like sober, it's the fact he's clearly an alcoholic with anger issues who can't control his liquor. And you know where girlfriends of these sickos end up? In ditches."

She snarled deeply. Who was he? Who the fuck was _he_ to tell her about Mark James; the man who helped her through one of the toughest times in her life? She was homeless, shuffling from hotel to hotel and barely getting enough money to get by. She could only win so many poker games, and then Mark came along and helped her. She owed him. She... she was pretty damn sure she needed him.

Refusing to put up with Dean's disgusting attitude, she opened Baby's door and slammed it shut. Just as she did that though, the previous pain from hours earlier slammed into her and she groaned aloud. She'd rather walk in torture than deal with his prissy-smartass comments. As Cole began walking though, she wasn't sure if she hated him right then and there because of what he had said so many years ago and deep down she hadn't forgiven him or because his rude remarks hit too close to home. Sighing deeply, she came to the conclusion that all she knew was that Dean was now tailing her with the car, calling from the window for her to get inside Baby. Her legs were still aching and throbbing and because she began to sway due to the pounding pain to the side of her head, she obeyed and climbed in.

Dean knew when Cole got out and began to sway, she was exhausted. He knew it had to do with the pain she was undoubtly working through, but something he had always found amusing was how she would sway when she was tired and walking. When they were younger and he'd usher her to bed, she'd always wobble around like a penguin without realizing it and would sleepily place one unstable foot in front of the other. The majority of times, the older Winchester was forced into the position of either having Cole lean on him as they walked towards her bedroom, or just down right carrying her into bed. Smirking slightly to himself, he turned his attention back to the road and began to drive and within in minutes, Colette was out like a light; fifteen minutes later, her head was against Dean's shoulder.

At first, the Winchester went to shrug her off, not realizing she was asleep and quickly looked over expecting to see her either attempting to annoy him or distract him. He hadn't expected her to go to sleep that quickly so when he turned and saw her asleep, he froze. Sure, he knew she was tired, but... _this_ quickly? Dean bit the side of his cheek to stop himself from smiling and very carefully lifted his arm to turn the volume of the music down. Her curled position in the passenger's seat reminded him of when they were younger and Bobby would be taking the three of them home after eating out at a small shack nearby. Sammy always insisted on getting shotgun which left Colette and Dean to share back seat. Cole always was exhausted after eating such a big meal and ended up falling asleep on Dean's shoulder, or lap, or sometimes would sprawl out on the back seat, her head by her door and her feet on his lap.

Those memories though turned sour when the one of their fight clouded everything else and he sighed, gripping the steerwheel with his one free hand tightly. He really didn't mean it. God, he didn't. And when days flew by and she didn't return, the guilt began to swallow him inside out. And just picturing that buffed up idiot, _Mark-_ what type of name is Mark?-, cooing her and holding her and allowing her to rest her head against _his_ shoulder only angered him. Not to mention the asshole had the audacity to lay a hand on her. Dean was beyond pissed when his hand was on her thigh, but when it met her cheek and she collapsed to the ground, he lost it. No one hurt her like that and got away with it. _No_ _one_.

A sudden wash of jealousy waved into his body and he shook it off as instantly as it came.

Deciding to forget everything once and for all, he took a deep breath and kept his attention on the road and soft music rather than their memories. At some point during the ride it occured to him to call the hunters and tell them he was on his way home with Cole, so he did. He also, to focus on something else, counted a few of the cars that'd pass by and would guess their occupation. A lot of them he deemed as fat alcoholics. God, he disliked alcoholics. Hypocritically considering he wasn't necessarily one of the most sober people in the world, but so be it.

Colette was surprisingly light. Not that she was fat in any way shape or form, it was just that Dean expected a woman to be... a bit heavier. He hasn't necessarily had the best record with women, and carrying them in his arms the way he was with Cole wasn't something he did often, so he just assumed them to not be as light as she was. But she proved him wrong, even sleeping, and he was now closing Baby's door with his foot, her head slumped against his chest as his arms secured her to him underneath her legs and underneath her back. He knew she'd yell at him if he woke her, and deciding it was probably best to let her sleep, he resorted to this option.

Dean placed her in her bed after getting her to her room and closed the door, trudging back to the fridge and grabbing a beer. His fists were still slightly clenched and when Sam and Bobby walked into the room they both gaped. The older Winchester rose his eyebrows before getting easily fed up with their stupid looks and grumbled, "What?"

"Dude... what the hell happened to you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows for a second before registering what his brother was saying and shrugged, "I'm pretty sure Cole doesn't have a boyfriend anymore."

Bobby's face twisted with anger and disgust and was cut off when Sam growled, "You killed someone?!"

"What- no, no. Just... talked some sense into him." He paused, rethinking his statement before altering it and saying, "Without the talking part. More with physical contact hand gestures."

"She has- had a _boyfriend_? She's not allowed to have one of those until she's married!" Bobby snarled, "Boys are stupid and ridiculous and'll break her heart!"

Dean shrugged before sipping his glass, "I dunno. Some Mark dude. Complete alcoholic who can't hold his beer. Ended up throwin' one at Cole and I made him regret i-"

"He _hit_ her?!" The two shouted, both clearly showing signs of unpleasant emotions.

Dean nodded again before pursing his lips, "She's asleep now. Long day. I don't think she'll be leaving this time either, she was out." He bit his lip, contemplating whether or not he should ask before he concluded with a _what the hell_ and looked to Bobby, "What are we going to do with her? She doesn't want to stay here, but we finally have her back..."

Bobby adjusted his cap, cracking open his own beer before looking to the table, thinking hard, and then answering, "I know my Cole. She'll come around." He muttered something under his breath neither of the boys caught but they decided to shrug off.

Sammy nodded before announcing that he was exhausted and headed off to bed. Dean emptied his bottle, patted Bobby on the back, and headed to his own room which was across from Sam and next to Cole's. Bobby stayed in the kitchen, shaking his head with frustration and polishing another bottle before heading to his own bed. The boys would be up in a few hours and every minute of sleep was crucial in the hunter life-style.

Colette woke up the next morning with a spearing headache and a shit ton of memories from the previous day that slammed into her like a brick wall. Cole noticed her body seemed to have lost the fizzle-effect to it and she silently thanked any source bigger than herself for that and stretched. She groaned, rolled out of bed, and headed towards the bathroom. It was quite early, maybe five fifteen-ish, and she was positive everyone else was asleep. She shuffled into the bathroom, stripping of clothes and double checking to make sure she had a towel. Too many times had she forgotten that ghasted thing and had to either ask Mark for one or sprint to her room before he saw. Thankfully, the few times she was unfortunate enough for it to happen, he was always else where so never witnessed her naked flee.

The shower was hot, blistering and she jumped from how it practically melted her skin off. She attempted to play with the knob, adjusting the temperature until it was perfect and then beginning to cleanse and hum to herself. The water seemed to grow cool over time, however, and as she turned it hotter and hotter, she realized the temperature was getting abnormally hot. The issue was, she couldn't feel it. Well, she could, but not to the extent of the heat she knew the water was at. It felt like a nice, hot shower but she knew that the water was probably boiling. Her skin was glowing red and in some spots it was searing hot, but to the rest of her body it was just a typical half-way-turned-knob shower.

Eventually, she got out and dried herself. Cole wrapped the towel around her body before wrapping her hair into one of the smaller towels meant for that purpose and tying it at the top of her head. She walked out of the bathroom to be greeted by the line of two shirtless Winchesters, one in boxers and the other in sweats, and her father at the very back with pajamas on. They all glared at her and she rose her eyebrows and shrugged, "What?"

Sam scoffed, being first in line, and walked into the bathroom. Dean stepped forward and narrowed his eyes slightly, "We've been standing out here for God know's how long waiting for you to get out of that damn bathroom."

Colette shrugged and tightened the towel around her before a smirk appeared on her face, "It takes time looking as pretty as I do." She then walked off to her room laughing about her stupid joke and shut the door.

Bobby grumbled and when Dean turned, he smiled at the grin that was on the older hunter's face, "At least she's in a better mood today."

Once everyone had gotten cleaned up and had all shaken off the exhaustion mornings bring, they all headed to the kitchen. Cole, Dean, Sam, and Bobby all sat around the table eating breakfast when Sam pulled up a case in Georgia. Cole hadn't really thought of what would happen _after_ all of this flew by; whether she'd go back to Mark or stay with the boys or just head off by herself. One case with them, wouldn't hurt though... plus she still wasn't in perfect shape and really didn't want to see Mark right now. God, her head _still_ hurt. Sighing, she stuffed her face of toast and eggs and listened to Sammy as he spoke.

"Get this. Husband of the local bakery woman in a small town in Georgia, Senoia, was reported missing a few weeks back and was found _cracked_ apart behind a grocery store."

"Excuse me?" Dean muffled between pieces of eggs.

"Cracked?" Bobby echoed, "What do you mean?"

Sam shrugged as he took his own bite of the toast, "I don't know. It just says, '...was found cracked apart a few hours ago after police discovered his decaying body behind a grocery store. His body was broken into a million pieces like shattered glass, but everything was perfect and precise. Almost as if they were puzzle pieces...'." He shrugged again, "I dunno, but it sounds like our kind of thing."

The other three shared glances before they each nodded in agreement. People _cracking_ apart was definitely up their alley and Colette was sure she'd be sticking around for a few more weeks _only_ because she wanted to see what creature makes people into puzzles and she swore to herself she'd _only_ stay for the case. That's it; nothing more and nothing less.


	5. Chapter 5

Time seemed to pass as quickly as watching paint did and quite frankly she was getting annoyed and restless. Colette's fater rode in his own truck while she rode in the backseat of Baby with the brothers. They were now stationed in Louisiana where Sam was trying to bargain two rooms, each with two queens. The odds were leaning against his favor for receiving the rooms but he still tried his luck, at one point even attempting to flirt his way into it. The boys were broke and it was beginning to become a serious problem. Usually they'd steal a credit card or use someone's number to pay for things, but they hadn't had any luck in the past few weeks and it was beginning to weigh on them heavily.

Cole, Sam, and Dean had actually had to sleep in Baby once on the trip so far as they couldn't afford nor find a motel to crash at. Getting food was becoming worse and worse and even Dean was beginning to become nervous about the issue as no money meant no gas which meant no fule for his baby.

Unfortunately, as the three stood behind Sam as he attempted to bribe the lady at the front, they could tell the chances of anything happening were becoming thinner and thinner. It took awhile, but Sammy managed to score a room with two twins, a couch, and a broken heater for the low price of eight a night. All the king, queen, and double rooms had been preoccupied and were way out of their price range leaving the four hunters with an average sized space for a family of three with three small sleeping areas and a broken heat vent.

When they got in the room however, they were shocked. Sure, they had known the room would be small... but this small? The twin beds could barely fit one Sam in it and that stupid couch the woman was talking about was a mere, mini love-seat. Here, they're expecting some big sofa thing and instead they get half of a fucking love-seat. The room itself could barely fit maybe six people and was the size of a suburban house kitchen. Was she serious? Bobby growled, something about a lying con-woman and placed his gear down as he took a seat next to a bed. It was clear that Dean and Bobby automatically got the beds. Both had been driving for days on end, refusing to allow anyone else to take over, and their backs were probably stiff as hell. The question now was who got the couch.

Both Colette and Sammy were willing to give up the couch. Sam, being the gentleman he was, insisted that she took the couch and he'd get the floor while Cole insisted that she kept getting the Impala's backseat which was technically a small couch whilst he had an uncomfortable seat. With both of them jabbering back and forth, Dean threw in that he'd take the couch because he didn't want Sam nor Colette having to go through that discomfort, but both shut him down instantly. They both felt horrible for watching him shift in his seat constantly as if needles were being jabbed into his body as they made their trip to Georigia.

"Sam, just let me take the damn floor, alright? I'll be fine; besides you deserve the chair anyway."

"But Cole, I-"

"No, you're taking the couch. That's final." She grumbled out, cutting him off as she took her spot besides Dean's bed, right in between the Winchester's bed and couch.

Sam frowned, upset about the outcome of the argument but sighed and accepted it. He curled up on the couch, Bobby turning off the light and the four settling in. Dean wasn't happy about Colette sleeping on the floor, and he knew how cold it could get at night. She'd be freezing by midnight and there weren't any extra blankets; he'd give her his, but his was as light as paper and wouldn't make any difference.

So, genuinely speaking, he told her if she got too uncomfortable she could climb into bed and he'd move to the floor or if she got too cold he'd give her his blanket and leather jacket and even went as far as offering to her to share the bed with him as the heater was now broken and it would be bitterly cold. He offered the same to Sam, minus the sharing bed part as the two wouldn't ever be able to fit in that small of a bed, but the boy was half asleep when he responded so Dean shrugged.

Hours passed, but there Cole laid on the hard mat wide awake. It was freezing, just like Dean said, and she actually took into consideration what he had been placing on the table. Although the thought of sharing a bed with _Dean Winchester_ was an extreme absurdly one, she was beginning to think it might be a good idea. After contemplating after awhile, though, she dismissed the thought completely and resorted to the next best thing; stealing the jacket. She was positive Bobby was asleep, no doubt about it, with his soft snoring, Sam too with his rhytmatical breathing and slightly parted lips, but Dean, she wasn't sure. He tossed an awful lot as she reached for his heavy jacket which she knew would work very well for a blanket. As she reached over, she then realized he was indeed asleep and was having a bad dream. Cole felt a ping of pity hit her chest as he was making soft whimpering sounds and his face was scrunched in distress.

Dean looked a lot younger, vunerable asleep and the fact his face was contorted with such displeasure sent her stomach flipping. She felt horrible and tried to whisper to him in an attempt to sooth the twenty-six year old. She could understand it; the nightmares. This job wasn't easy in any way of the word and they watched people die, innocent people, sometimes even family and friends and co-hunters.

It wasn't necessarily the fact that they saw the dead bodies and it scarred them, but rather the fact that these fellow hunters and people were the same as themselves. Meaning, they could be killed just as easily. When that sunk in, that's when the nightmares begin to poision your dreams as the thoughts that loved ones who are unfortunately in this business can get killed at any second and there's not a lot to be done to prevent it.

So, Cole could relate to Dean's bad dream. She had some often herself, but it usually didn't have to do with the business. Because she had been so isolated from the only family she had really ever known, the thought of loosing someone close to her very rarely presented itself. Sure, every once in awhie she got concerned and fought the urge to call and make sure Dean and Sam and her father were still alive, but because she hadn't talked to them in over seven years, those fears began to drift away. Instead, they were replaced with the horrible images of Mark screaming, throwing, and breaking things. Again, he wasn't a bad person and she knew it and the only reason she stayed with him was because she thought he'd get help like he always insisted he would, but God when that man got drunk... things went to Hell.

Sam, who was laying in an odd position on the couch, began to make odd sounds himself and she found herself resisting the urge to go over to him as well and try to calm him too. Cole wasn't as shocked to see Sam fidgeting as she had learned on the ride to Georgia that he had left this life and went to Stanford, only for his girlfriend to barbeque on the fucking ceiling and for him to be dragged right back in. Dean had told her privately the twenty-two year old had been having horrific nightmares about the incident and for her not to be alarmed as they only lasted a few minutes before he died down.

Sam, however, wasn't calming down and as Colette absentmindedly whispered things to Dean, she began to grow a bit anxious to help Sam. It had always been in her nature to care for people, especially her boys and father, so when she saw anyone really in displeasure, she tried her best to help them. Even when they were younger and they'd play tag or something in that region and one of the boys'd fall, she was the first in the kitchen attempting to reach the high shelf of medicine and band-aids to help her friends.

Deciding it might quicken her pace of helping Dean out, she began to rub his back- the gesture that always helped her go to sleep within seconds- and before long, he was in a heavy sleep and content. Moving over to Sam, she chose to skip over the whole whispering thing as it really didn't help Dean and decided to rub Sam's back until he was asleep too. As she stepped back, she got an odd feeling in her stomach. This was weird... after all these years and here she was _rubbing_ their _backs_? She shook it off. It was instinct and she was sure it wouldn't happen again... After giving it a little more thought she shrugged and blamed it on muscle memory and old urges for helping the Winchesters.

Shaking it off and ultimately erasing the past ten or so minutes from her mind, she wrapped the jacket around her shoulders which was heavy and thick and curled into a ball on the stupid, uncomfortable mat on the ground. Cole shivered slightly as a cold gust blew against her and she brought the jacket up to her neck as she closed her eyes, attempting to ignore the fierce chilliness. The jacket smelled of Dean's faint cologne and a nice manly smell. Both of the scents combined equalled Dean's... she didn't know... _smell_? and it comforted her. She concluded everything around her comforted her; Bobby's snoring, Dean's quiet breathing, and Sam's slightly louder inhales and exhales along with the jacket's warmth. With all of these factors clouding her brain, she blocked out the chill and ended up falling asleep.

It had to have been five or so in the morning when Dean sprung from his bed with a loud gasp, a shout in his throat as beads of sweat trickled down his temples and neck. He looked around, panting heavily as he took in his surroundings and attempted to swallow the lodged scream in his esophagus. There was no way in hell he was going to sleep now, and the only way his brain could think of forgetting that God awful nightmare was to drink. Hardcore drink.

Stumbling out of bed, he went to reach for his jacket and grumbled when he didn't feel it. Turning the small light on next to his bed, he realized it was gone and a surge of panic shot through him when he realized Colette wasn't in between Sam and himself anymore. He quickened his pace to the door and almost tripped over the girl as she was sound asleep at the _foot_ of his bed and curled in his jacket. Dean's relief completely washed everything else from him as he took in the fact she was fine and hadn't ditched... _again_ and was safe. It was in that moment, however, he realized how damn cold it was. His bare chest had practically been being eaten by the chill and he wrapped his arms around himself shivering. He couldn't figure out how he didn't notice the temperature before but decided it was cold enough to slip back in bed and fall asleep.

Just as he began to turn, though, he noticed something off about Colette. He bent down slightly and moved his jacket from her shoulders and rose his eyebrows slightly in shock to find her shivering. Guilt surged through him and he instantly picked her up before placing her in his bed. She immediately snuggled down into the bed, especially considering the warmth of his body still lingered there making the bed extra cozy and a grin found its way to his face.

Like he had said before, there was no way he was going to sleep now and considering the brunette sleeping in his bed had his jacket secured to her body like gold, he chose to grab a lighter jacket after throwing on a shirt and head to a bar for an hour or two. Maybe a little longer just so he can forget that horrific, bile-creeping and stomach-twisting dream of Colette being dismembered and disfigured and... he shook his head. It was awful. Absolutely terrible. Dean knew for a fact the only reason he was beginning to have these dreams about her was because she was back in their lives and that automatically meant that unspokenly, he was to watch out for her. Although no one ever told him to, it became his job, as if she was another Sammy, and now that she was back, he was afraid she'd end up dead.

The majority of their friends suffered the same fate, so why wouldn't she? His head pounded and his chest felt constricted but he ignored it. The motivation of the fact he'd loose recognition of the dream after a few shots made his feet move forward and his brain shift gears to determination. What was even worse, what made Dean want to drink even more and just blank the overall part of the night was that she was probably safer with a guy, douchebag like Mark than she was with Dean who'd do anything for her. Although Mark was a hunter and all, he hunted the smaller things like angry spirits and ghouls. There, Dean knew she was safe, despite his outbursts of rage under the influence of intoxication. Here, though, they hunted everything and the chances of her getting hurt were greater.

Meaning... even though Dean would give anything, do everything to keep her safe and protect her with his life, she was probably better off with some douchewad who drinks all day and screams and shouts.

And that... that thought shredded everything Dean lived for into millions of broken pieces.


	6. Chapter 6

Hundreds of miles, tons of crappy motels, and some watery-tasting food later and the four hunters had landed themselves smack dab in the center of Senoia, Georgia. Though there were fights here and there throughout the trip, the four had managed to reduce the arguments to a record-breaking low. By the time they had arrived in their new, shitty hotel with a broken down exterior and pretty shabby interior that was the exact replica of the one in Lousiana except with a third bed (probably so considering the motel was fran bythe same company as before), they were laughing and talking and grinning and dorking around like complete idiotic children.

Colette's cheeks hurt so much from smiling and it was beyond clear that she had completely forgotten about that promise she made to herself; leaving after the hunt. As if all the quarrels and debates and fights between the young adults had vanished, the three worked in unison with unpacking their gear, attempting to figure out the case, and coming up with disguises for tomorrow's interrogations.

As if everything burned away, the three of them were once again embraced in the happiness and glee they had felt as kids, Dean scolding the younger ones as they giggled and ran away, ultimately ending up with the three of them in a very vital game of tag. Dean would crack some dumb joke that would make Sam respond sarcastically which would then make Cole loose her grip and begin laughing hysterically, resulting in the two brothers finding that amusing and laughing as well. Cole would hack into some website (a skill she had gone into more depth with after she had met Celeste Middleton, a girl with bright red hair and a nack for computers) and the three would binge a movie on her computer until they were all knocked out on some uncomfortable couch, fatigue getting the best of them. It wasn't the best life, sure. It wasn't the pie-eating, shiny cars with yappy dog life tons of people picture as kids, but she knew it would suffice.

It was early in the morning, the sun barely even waking up itself, when Colette was jolted awake. Immediately reaching for the gun she always kept underneath her bed, she snatched it from underneath the wooden frame and pointed it up. Breathing heavily, she looked around nervously, her entire system on high alert before she eased and dropped her hand to her head as she fell backwards. Cole had failed to realize while she woke up with such a start, she had gasped in the process and that had stirred Sam, who was sleeping on the couch next to her, awake.

The Winchester had his shaggy, ear-length hair messy and tousled due to sleep and his eyes were squinted as he adjusted them to the light, but the sheer confusion written on his exhaustion plastered face was distinctable. He tilted his head to the side, clearly still half-asleep, so she just shrugged it off and waved her hand dismissively and Sammy instantly knocked out once more.

She, however, didn't. Cole couldn't. Something within her, something lodged in her stomach had an unnerving feeling spreading through her torso and she couldn't shake it off. Deciding it'd be best if she just walked it off in a nearby park by the hotel to clear her mind, she quickly changed and headed out the door, sure to lock it behind her and to take her phone.

As she made her way down to the exit, she passed a few cleaning ladies, one being this hefty woman with sour eyes and a pursed scowl and another being a short Asian woman who dusted a nearby corner. The one that caught her eye though was a tall, long-legged woman with strange looking hair and narrow eyes. The woman had sharp features and blinding red lipstick and everything about her screamed with such distaste and diceitfulness that Colette had to break-eye contact from the cleaning lady and continued forward, her feet moving a bit quicker.

It was hot. Jesus, it was hot. Colette hadn't even managed four steps out the hotel before she was sweating and the motivation to jogging around an entire mile-long lake drained out of her with every bead that trickled down her neck. Fortunately, that stupid lingering weary feeling that was tickling at every side of her stomach refused to leave and so she chose to ignore the hundred degree weather and to proceed forward in hopes the ghastly sensation would disappear.

The town was nice, quiet. Cole, on her way to the park, had stopped a small Stop-&-Shop to get a bottle of iced water and was currently trudging through the heat and towards the lake. The cashiers were awful nice, asking a few random questions Colette mustered up about the case while the eldery worker scanned the water and Colette couldn't help but feel as though the short, old woman's positive energy had rubbed off on her.

As Cole continued to walk, she began to take in the surroundings of the tiny but elegant town. Perfectly paved roads with un-cracked sidewalks, friendly people that instead of shouting at one another were greeting with pats on backs. It was a picture-perfect area, and that all but made her happy about being in such a pie-eating life of a town. Picture-perfect doesn't exist; these people were too happy, too smiley and grinny and excited. They were _too_ exaggerated about everything and that caught her attention.

Mentally jotting that piece of information down, Cole headed towards the lake which, as she found out once she got there, was just as perfect as everything else. Gorgeous, bright blue water with swans and ducks and geese swimming around, stunning flowers sprouting from the grounds and minimal, but just enough, cat-tails hanging around the sides of the lake. It was absolutely mesmerizing and if it hadn't been for the horrific temperature and abnormally happy town, Colette may've actually enjoyed it. Instead, she focused her attention on the nagging in her stomach and began to jog. The heat had other plans, however, and by the time Cole had made it a fourth of the way there, her shirt had come off and her hair had gone up leaving her in an appropriate sports-bra and jogging pants.

She felt sick. Jeez, did she feel sick. Everything in her body was rejecting the strange feeling in her stomach and she couldn't understand why. It wasn't anything physical either, but rather something in her head, an alarm if you will, that was going off urgently and was sending panicked signals to her torso. Cole trusted her gut and her gut was screaming something was terribly wrong. Sighing, the Singer jogged back to the motel, sweaty and disgusting, but also down-right confused.

So, maybe it was physical. Pulling the thermometer from her mouth, she almost enhaled aloud at the numbers; a hundred point eight. The men were all still asleep when she had gotten back (they hadn't gotten proper sleep in ages) and she decided to find out what the hell was going on after her sweating became cold-flashes and her head began to throb. It was obvious she definitely had a fever and running around an entire _lake_ probably didn't help anything either. Colette though was determined to get better in the hour or so she had left before her family began waking up.

They had all been getting along so well and everything was going just as it did when they were younger and she would hate if she'd be the reason their fun had to be put on hold. Grabbing some advil and cough pills, she swallowed herself full of medicine and began throwing cold water on her face in an attempt to lessen the fever.

As minutes passed though, she began to realize it only made things worse. Her head began striking itself sending splintering bolts of agonizing pain throughout her skull, rattling her brain and knocking the muscle into the bone. Her throat began to swell as her nose began to ache, a wet sensation beginning to fill itself in her nostrils and soon enough she was shivering underneath her blanket, the fabric pulled all the way up to her neck. Medicine won't work as of now because the fever is so new it probably just set in around five hours ago and the only thing she could think of doing was hoping to sleep it off. So, that's what Colette did. She closed her eyes and passed right on out.

Bobby was first to wake after the sun had risen to a point in the sky where it's beams were striking through the windows and into the old man's eyes. The hunters, besides Cole, had gotten around seven to eight hours of sleep and considering sometimes they get four hours of sleep every three days, that was a pleasure Bobby Singer wanted to milk for just a bit longer. Unfortunately, the sun didn't agree with the elder and he mumbled a few curses before stretching and getting up. Checking the time, it read seven twenty-two and so he decided it was a decent time to be woken up, despite his wanting to roll back to sleep, and started for the bathroom for a shower.

Thirty or so minutes passed and when he walked out, clean and nice, he saw the two brothers awake. Dean was fixing a tie that he had accompanied with a fancy suit and shoes, fixing his hair to be a bit more professional, and checking to make sure he had his fake badge. Sam was combing his hair and attempting to make it seem less... bed-like. Bobby looked towards Colette's bed to find her still asleep which slightly concerned the father as he knew his daughter awful well and she... well, she never _slept in_. It was something she was never accustomed to do; she thought it was down right stupid. "Why waste hours of your life dreaming of things that'll never happen when you can wake up and get things done", she'd tell him, "You can sleep when you're dead."

Subtly making his way over so he didn't show his alarm and or red flags, he shuffled towards his daughter's side to realize her flushed face and rosy cheeks. Biting the inside of his cheek, he looked up to make sure the boys were preoccupied and placed his hand to her forehead. It was burning hot and a deep frown fell on his face as he knew right then and there, she was sick. Dean glanced over at the man as the older hunter took his hand off of her forehead before Dean turned his attention back to his shoe that he was tying and standing, "She okay?"

"What?" Bobby said, startled. "Yeah, yeah, she's fine." He looked down at her and nodded slightly before mumbling, "Perfectly fine."

By the time Colette had woken up, the three were gone. There was a note explaining how they didn't want to wake her and that she should rest. The note elaborated their thoughts (they believed she didn't get any sleep last night due to Sammy's breif moment of consciousness) and told her to stay in bed and how they'd be back around twelvish. It was ten thirty now, and seeing as she'd be home alone with nothing to do for an hour and a half, she got up and changed into professional looking clothes. Her head still hurt and her stomach felt horric and every time she swung her head she'd get the effects of motion-sickness, but nevertheless she hoped in her car and headed towards the spot where the note read the boys would be located.

Dean was investigating the crime scene, Sam asking a few police officers if they knew anything besides shown and Bobby was making a few "important" calls when out of the corner of his eye he noticed a woman with a pony-tail and piercing green eyes walking their way. A police officer had his hand wrapped around her arm as he guided her towards the guys and grumbled under his breath as he confronted the Singer, "She claims to be part of your team. Is this so?"

Bobby growled under his breath, looking at his daughter in such bad shape. Although she was prettier than every other female at the scene and despite the illness, she looked paler than what'd be clasified as healthy and her eye sockets seemed hollowed out. Her cheek bones that were typically a structure on her face that gave her even more of a daring look that intrigued people were sunken in and it looked as if she had aged decades.

He nodded, ignoring the anger that bubbled in his gut, "Yeah, she's with us."

With that, the police officer left and Bobby snarled deeply, grabbing the attention of Sam and Dean who hadn't noticed Cole's arrival. "What are you doin' here? I purposefully let ya' sleep!"

She shrugged it off as her eyes wandered frantically and interestedly around the area, "I got bored. Besides, I don't know why you didn't wake me in the first place."

Bobby glanced at the boys who stood curiously, Dean's brows furrowed a bit in doubt as he skeptically scanned Colette. Bobby knew the boys were catching on to her sickness and the last thing he needed was the Winchesters to be off their game while ganking this new monster because they're worried about his daughter. He grabbed her arm gently but firmly and guided her a bit farther from the boys, out of earslength anyway, and began to talk quietly, "You're sick, that's why, and I don't need these boys messin' up on this case and getting one of us killed because their too concerned for your health and are out of it."

She scoffed, yanking her hand back to herself and scowling, "I'm not sick, and the boys wouldn't be off their game because I got a cold. I'm perfectly fine and don't need you to father me around."

"Watch it, Colette. Remember who you're speaking to."

Cole, not having the energy to fight back, plastered a quick scowl on her face before she turned her heel and walks back to the brothers. Although this was a subtle gesture, it proved a lot to Bobby and scared him a bit. Even at her worst, his daughter was never one to just _walk_. With the flu she had her witty comebacks and with chicken-pox she still had that fight in her; an argumentative side that refused to let down. So the fact that Cole was willing to just allow Bobby the final say was not only concerning, but damn-well panic-filling.

She was sucha' liar though. It was all she could think about as she made her way towards the Winchesters who were pretending to do something important and not seem as if they were attempting to eavesdrop. She _was_ sick and she _did_ feel like crap and now that she was here, she wished she could have just _slept_ like Bobby had advised in the letter. Cole's father always knew what to do, especially when she was sick and although she never listened to it at first, when she did she always felt ten times better. Deciding though that now that she was older and could make her own decisions, she straightened her back and waltz confidently up to the scene and began inspecting it.

"What was that about?" Sam asked as he glanced up from a piece of evidence he had been analysing.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. He just wanted to see if I had gotten enough sleep."

The words rolled off like a purr of a cat and it made her feel gross and disgusting. She lied so easily now, as simple as one, two, three. As if second nature. Sure, it was practically her job to lie, but that was to other people. Now she was lying to her _family_ and doing it so easily without hesitation only made it worse. Painting a smile though, she looked to Sam and it seemed to suffice as he grinned back and returned to his piece. Dean, however, wasn't convinced.

The older Winchester was flabbergasted at how Sam hadn't noticed how... _wrong_ Cole looked and assumed it to be the distance in which they were apart, but unlike Sam, Dean was closer. A lot closer. Maybe a few feet away from her and as he glanced from his own area, unease began polluting his blood and traveling all over his body. He noticed the pale skin and hollowed eyes and sunken cheeks. He noticed the flushed nose and red cheeks and the way she kept placing her jacket on and off. And by the time they had finished and had agreed to heading over to a diner for a good lunch, Dean had concluded that she was indeed lying and that there was something seriously wrong. He suspected her to be sick, but also included a few other suggestions as to why she looked so weak as she did on a mental notesheet in his head.

"And a coke for you." The bubbly waitress by the name of Cheryl grinned, winking at Dean before flouncing off, her blonde curls bouncing along with her.

Colette snorted shortly at the waitress causing Dean to look at her with a smirk of his own and rose his eyebrows due to amusement, "Jealous?"

She laughed, "Please. I just wanted to know what type of drug she was on to be so damn happy."

Dean chuckled in response, Cole also earning a grin from Bobby and a short laugh from Sam, and began swishing his straw around his drink as Sam pulled out his laptop and began reading local articles.

"So, get this," He started, "in nineteen-sixty-five, seven men and five women went missing and within weeks, twelve shattered statues were found throughout this town. Then, in nineteen-seventy-five, the same thing happened except with six men and eleven women, this time being in the spring. In nineteen-eighty-five, same thing and so on. But here's the thing, throughout the fifty years this has been occuring, not once has the disappearances taken place in the winter. It's always the fall, spring, or summer. And, they all happen in decade gaps. Forty-five, fifty-five, sixty-five... all the way up to ninety-five and now o-five."

Bobby and Sam began to go farther into depth about the case, narrowing down the options of creatures that could be causing these odd like statues. Vampires were taken out along with werewolves and rugarus and the two had come up with the conclusion it could've been a witch or some sort of God or maybe even a curse object. Dean knew what they were talking about was probably important, but he couldn't help but not listen as his attention wandered to Cole. She looked tired and sick, and her appetite, which sometimes challenged Dean's, was concerningly small. She had only ordered a cup of soup and crackers, unlike the guys who'd ordered cheeseburgers and sides of french fries and large drinks. Not to mention, Dean was betting on a nice piece of apple pie for dessert as well. He'd know then if she was really screwed up or it was in his head because dessert was her favorite.

It was official, Colette had to have been dying of a life-threatening disease or something. It was half way through lunch and she had barely touched her food, the guys already finishing their meals and Dean about ready to order his dessert. Cheryl, or whatever her name was, skipped back to the table and collected the plates, taking Dean's order and saying she'd be back to see if anyone else wanted anything for dessert. As she left, Bobby and Sam started up again so Dean turned to Cole who was swirling her spoon around her soup and asked, "What're you gettin' for dessert?"

She shrugged, leaning back in her seat and pushing the soup away as Cole grabbed the edges of her jacket and pulled it tighter around herself, "Nothing. Not all that hungry."

Even Sam turned at that statement. All three mens' eyes locked on her and she instantly got defensive, "What? Am I not allowed to not be hungry for once in my life?"

Sam, who sat next to her, turned his body and furrowed his eyebrows. Bobby across from her glowered and Dean, noticing Bobby's anger, looked between the two Singers. Sam was first to speak though, getting a skeptical look in his eye, "Cole, you feelin' alright? You look awfully pale."

Colette laughed nervously, waving her hand dismissively, "I'm fine. I just didn't get that good of sleep, that's all."

The younger Winchester wouldn't take it and reached his hand for her forehead, Cole immediately slapping his hand away and them doing a little hand slapping contest before Sam caught both her wrists in one of his hands and used his other to place it on her forehead. She squirmed, trying to make it difficult for him to place his hand there as she knew it'd be an automatic give away but she realized it was a futile attempt as Sam's entire palm was rested on her head and his eyes widened. He growled, taking his hand back and letting her go as his eyes narrowed, "How high?"

"What?" She asked, an insulted look on her face as if he'd slapped her.

"How high's the fever?" He repeated, angry she'd kept her illness from them.

Dean looked to her, his own eyebrows furrowed as she scoffed, "I don't know. Maybe ninety-nine point four? Honestly, I feel fine."

Their gazes all lingered on her for a bit, but eventually Sam took her word for it and sighed, "If you feel weird at all, tell me, okay?

She nodded and looked out the window, beginning to feel drowsy as she stared at the oddly happy people. Thinking out loud, she mumbled, "They're weird."

The all turned again, this time with confusion rather than concern. Dean bit his lip before tilting his head and glancing out the window, "What?"

Colette nodded her head, squinting her eyes before an idea sparked in her head, "They're weird. Everyone in this town's too happy." She paused before biting her lip, "I'll be right back."

She climbed over Sam quickly before scurrying out the door, Bobby almost getting up to go after her until he watched her from the window run up to a group of teenage guys. Dean watched with narrowed eyes as the three of them practically oogled for a moment, her obviously saying something to them and them soon responding.

"Yeah, no, there's a whole conspiracy about this town." One of the surfer dude-like guys said, "Somethin' having to do with late fifteen hundreds when settlers began making colonies. The first attempt, Roanoke, failed as everyone seemed to vanish without a trace and legend has it that an creature had been awoken by the constant fighting between the settlers and natives and killed them all by turning them into rock. Lore says it'd done this because it was so angry about being awaken from its sleep."

Colette furrowed her eyebrows, shifting her weight to a leg as she crossed her arms noticing the other two gawking and sighing, "But wasn't Roanoke's island set up by North Carolina? How does that relate to a creature all the way down in Georgia?"

One of the two who'd been staring at her chest snapped his eyes up and continued for the first boy, "It was, but the conspiracy around here is that after Roanoke failed and they tried again with Jamestown, the creature realized there were too many colonists. Jamestown, unlike Roanoke, thrived and more and more settlers showed up. With Roanoke, they were desperate and starving making them easy prey. So, finding no other option, the creature ran South and ever since has supposedly been taking residence in Senoia."

She sighed, trying to process what the boys were saying and how it related to the case, "Okay... but that doesn't explain why everyone's so giddy."

The third one chimed in and finished for the second guy, "The creature woke in fifteen eighty-five. Ever since then, every decade it feeds, kills. It usually goes for the angriest, most aggressive and or unhappy people therefore people in this town try to be as happy as they can be so they're hopefully not the next target. It's twenty-o'five now, and people are terrified on who'll be next. So far there's been four missing reports and four broken statues that oddly resemble those missing, so one can only pray they're gleeful enough to not be the next victim."

Nodding, Colette smiled and bit her lip, still trying to figure out how one thing led to another. As she turned her heel and began walking, one of them ran up behind her and caught her arm. Dean, watching from the window, let out a low, soft growl in disapproval at the man's actions as Sam tilted his head in confusion and Bobby watched with skepticism. Dean watched more intensely than the others as she laughed, handing the guy a piece of paper before kissing his cheek and waving to the other two who couldn't tear their eyes from her ass. Dean's fist clenched, as he glared bullets into the three as she quickly crossed the street and back into the resturant. She sat down, Sam scootting over, and before anyone could say anything she said, "It's a Hydusa."


	7. Chapter 7

"A what?" Bobby asked, bewildered.

Sam, too, was confused but Dean couldn't careless. He was still glaring at the number that guy outside the window held which was quite obviously Colette's and how the dude highfived his friends as he grabbed his phone and recklessly jabbed the numbers in, creating a contact. Pft, Dean was sure the dude probably didn't even know his right from left. Looking to his pocket, he let out a growl which caught everyone's attention as he took his phone out and stared at it, quickly flipping it open and going through the contacts. Seeing that there wasn't a "Cole Singer" he glared darts at the man who flounced the paper around as if it was nothing and huffed before turning to Cole and sighing, "Can I have your number?"

Cole looked perplexed and glanced to the guy outside, raising an eyebrow and grinning before he stuck his hand out to stop her, "I'm not jealous, I just need it so that you don't turn to stone when we're fighting this Hydusa thing."

She grinned as she tilted her head, "Who said anything about jealousy?"

He looked stunned, feeling blood rush to his cheeks before she laughed and grabbed his phone, "I'm kidding, Dean, relax."

Cole absentmindedly dialed the phone number into his cell, Sam bewilderedly staring at Dean who refused to look up. When he did, Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother who grinned and raised his eyebrows interestedly underneath his shagged hair. Bobby, thankfully, didn't catch on as he was too busy trying to remember if he'd ever heard of such a monster and Cole handed back the phone, "There ya' are."

Dean mumbled a thanks but his eyes stayed locked on Sammy's for a bit longer, as if to tell him to shut his trap about the entire thing. Only when Cheryl came back with the check and the piece of pie wrapped up did Dean break eye contact and Sam huff to himself with amusement.

Bobby furrowed his eyebrows looking to her, "What in seven hells is a Hydusa?"

She shrugged slightly and bit her lip, "I'm honestly not sure. Mar- A hunter friend of mine had gotten drunk and was rambling about somethin' called a Hydusa, but I didn't think he was legit about it. He was so outta' wack he couldn't even count his fingers. I thought he was just making something up but he was on and on about this creature that turned people to stone..." She mumbled off, getting lost in thought about what Mark was saying when drunk. Though she had cut herself off from saying his name, Dean caught the slip up and was absentmindedly clenching and unclenching his hand. God, what he had seen that douchebag do to her was so infuriating he still felt the anger when he thought of it.

As Sam took the check and looked at it, he sighed and took his wallet out before throwing down the last of the cash he had. Money was still an issue and the four had been trying to figure out a way they could gain at least enough for a decent week at a decent hotel. Dean had been having go's now and then at poker gigs, Sam trying to sell off some of the fake voodoo stuff they had around to those oddity shops, Bobby trying to bargain his way into receiving a few hundred with some friends, and Cole attempting to flirt her way into getting some money.

Not that she did it in front of her family though. Bobby would never let her hear the end of it and the brothers wouldn't ever stop with the _what ifs_ that may happen if she ends up attempting to flirt her way with the wrong guy. She, herself, knew it was a wrong and frowned-upon way to get money, but considering for the past seven years it's how she'd got by, she didn't necessarily consider it a sin. Not to mention she wasn't a complete oblivious idiot with a ponytail and sharp tongue. Cole knew how she held herself whilst walking into joints that usually were made up of men.

It never got to her head making her conceited and snarky like she'd seen a few other girls turn into, but instead allow her to use her looks to get what she needed. And yeah, maybe it was a manipulative thing to do, but if it got her enough money to get a nice meal for the day, she'd take it. Besides, she didn't always do it. Not that that's an excuse to her behavior, but it did help lessen the tight knot of nerves in her stomach she got when doing it because it made her feel gross and scheming.

When she wasn't bribing drunken men to give her a five or ten, she usually was getting money by winning other games at casinos. Poker wasn't necessarily a specialty of hers, but black jack definitely was. Something about the way the cards chose your fate versus your face intrigued her and she typically found herself getting money by winning games such as that rather than poker. Not saying that Cole wasn't a good poker player, however, as she could easily bluff her way into a grand if the cards are right and the men are drunk enough, but still.

And unlike the fools around her who may be fortunate enough to win the money and end up playing again just to loose it, whenever she wins, she cashs a hundred, puts it into her purse, and goes back to the table to spend the rest of the money she had gained from her win. That way, if she looses all the money, she still has a hundred in her bag.

Regardless, money was tight and the hunters were finding it harder and harder to get enough food and keep that lousy, small room they had gotten a day or two ago.

Sam sipped his beer, layed back into the small love-seat with his computer rested on his lap as his eyebrows furrowed with concentration. Cole was lying on the floor uncomfortably but silently as the pencil in her hand sketched a few pictures of what the guys had said earlier. Bobby was outside taking calls from his hunter friends that may have some idea on what this creature was and Dean, remarkably, was sitting on his bed reading a book on lore. Cole knew he wasn't one to have his nose into a book, but remained silent as she flipped through the book, drawing page after page. The first page was a picture of Eastern America. It showed where North Carolina was and where Roanoke would specifically be to Senoia, Georgia.

The next page had the word **HYDUSA** written on it in big letters as she stared at it blankly. The name had to mean something. Cole bit her lip, staring at it harder. Stone. Roanoke... an island. Water.

It then hit her. Scrambling to her feet, Colette ran towards Sam and stole the computer, sitting right next to the couch and opening a new tab. From there, she quickly typed in a few things to confirm her hypothesis before grinning and handing the computer back. Sam rose an eyebrow as Dean looked up from his book and she grinned, "It's a hybrid."

The brothers paused, stole a glance from one another before turning back to her and asking, "What?"

"Think about it. Hydusa. People turned to _stone_. What folklore does that remind you of?"

Dean shrugged, "Well, I thought of Medusa but that's only a myth. Not to mention, she's some psycho chick with a bad hair day everyday and a split tongue. Plus, she lives on an island; not Georgia. And the creature's name's HYdusa, not Medusa."

"Sure, but Hydusa's the combination of two myths. Both Medusa and the Lernaean Hydra, also known as Hydra, are Greek myths, but have been proven by both science and hunters fake. However, there are still stories dating back to the fifteen hundreds of a creature with snake eyes and tongue, sometimes even multiple heads, that turn unfortunate sailors and merchants into stone." She bit the inside of her lip, flipping back to the Eastern America drawing and continued.

"Apparently it was awoken around the time of Roanoke due to fighting between the settlers and natives and out of anger turned them all into stone. That's why all the people in this town are so happy. The creature supposedly goes for the angriest and most hate-filled people in the town. From what I recall of what my friend had said, the poison that the Hydra part of it gives off makes the legiments and bones and muscles in the victim turn glass-fragile, therefore when the slightest touch hits the statue, it automatically crumbles."

Sam sat a bit straighter, narrowing his eyes in thought and skepticism, "Say this thing is real and it's what's causing all of this ruckus, how do we kill it?"

Cole shrugged as she walked over to her father's duffle and began searching through a few books he packed, "I don't know. Again, my friend was talking awful fast and slurred words while explaining the creature to me so I know it vaguely. I mean, I'd assume it's how Hercules took down the Lernaean Hydra in his twelve labors."

Dean piped up, "Why wouldn't you kill it like Perceus did with Medusa?"

She bit her lip and began to flip through the pages of a greek mythology book as she absentmindedly responded, "Because, it can have more than one head. I'd assume it has a human exterior as well-"

"I got it." Sam cut off, "I found an entire article on some lore website."

Cole dropped her book and hopped onto the bed as she looked at him expectantly, "Okay, what's it say?"

Dean glanced over at her, grinning slightly to himself at how excited she got before turning his attention to Sam as he began to speak.

"It says here the Hydusa got its name in the early sixteen hundreds after colonies in the south began experiencing its wrath. It awakens every ten years, hence the decade gaps, and kills all year long until it falls back to sleep during winter. The record for statues found in a year were over eighteen, though there were over thirty missing-people reports." His eyes scanned rapidly over the screen as his fingers moved the article up and he continued reading, "Blah, blah, blah... Oh! It apparently can shape itself into a human form and shows its true-self when threatened or about to kill. Supposedly it shoots venom from its snake-like tongue paralysing the victim and making its body fragile before going Medusa-eyes and turning the person to statue."

"Great," Dean mumbled, running a stressed hand through his hair before he glanced up, "and how do we gank this thing?"

Sam bit his bottom lip as he scrolled a bit farther and smirking, "Cole was right. Apparently you have to chop every one of its heads off, if it has several."

"Does it say how many those can be?" Cole cut in.

"Um, well it says based off of supposed-sightings, about three to four. Nothing like the nine to fifty written in biblogical times."

"And, just being realistic, if one of us is turned to stone, is there anyway to be turned back?"

Sam's eyebrows furrowed tighter as he intentively scanned the article before sighing, "A person in Japan claims they've witnessed someone who'd been turned to stone- I don't know, unstone- after the Hydusa was killed. But in his comment it says the people who were crumbled didn't. The people who were turned to stone..." His face contorted in disgust as he swallowed, "The pieces of the people who were turned to stone turn back into flesh and bone when the creature's killed." He looked up, "So I guess that means you're good until you've turned to a puzzle."

Although Cole and Sam celebrated and grinned in their victory of figuring out what this beast was, Dean sat there glumly staring down at his book. Sure, they found out what creature it was and how to kill it, but now they had to identify what person in the town it was and actually kill it. Saying they'd do it versus actually doing it were two separate things. Plus, Dean was thinking of how _wrong_ this entire thing could go. Yeah, they gank things just as dangerous every month, but considering this was new territory they'd be walking in, Dean was extremely uncomfortable. He didn't know what they were walking into, and whether or not all four of them would physically walk out.

Though she'd been surpressing the odd feeling in her stomach and nausea in her head, an overwhelming heat-wave slammed into Colette as the air in her lungs were sucked out. She groaned, leaning back in the bed as the brothers both glanced up. She placed a hand to her head as she felt it split only to hiss and pull it away at the heat that radiated off her forehead. She was sure it had been going away, she was fine a few minutes ago minus the urge to pass out any minute and fatigue, but now she felt as if it was taking over her body and clouding her mind. Sam scurried off to get some medicine as Dean rushed to her aid, pressing the back of his hand to her head and swallowing. She was burning up.

But just as fast as it came, it went. By the time Sam had gotten the medicine, she was fine again. Well, despite the pale face and sunken features, splitting headache and subtle chills. Sammy shook his head slightly and pulled his brother aside, "Dean... something's not right with this fever."

"I know..." Dean trailed off, staring at Colette. She was fine, then wasn't, getting heat flashes and then being perfectly fine. It was odd. Abnormal. Supernatural, even.

"Do you think... do you think it may've had to do with the lightning strike?"

"Maybe... it makes sense. We'll have to look into it, but people aren't just hit by lightning and are perfectly fine the way she is. Something's sketchy about this entire thing."

The younger Winchester nodded and they both sighed, sharing a last glance to Cole before turning to continue their own things.

A few days had passed since the discovery of the Hydusa and they weren't any closer to figuring out who it could be. Colette's fever had gone away after a few episodes of heat-flashes and trembling and she was now back to being healthy. Her skin had regained its color giving her a nice glow and her entire body just seemed to spring back to life. Even her energy was much brighter than it had been. The sleeping arrangements had stayed the same, to Dean's dismay as he hated seeing his younger brother sleep in the uncomfortable position he was in, but all four seemed to make it work. It was now day four in their attempt to figure out who the creature was and so far they weren't anywhere close to having even the slightest idea.

Bobby threw his hands up in defeat as he paced around the room, creating a small draft as the younger hunters looked up from the beds. Sam was currently using Bobby's bed to sit on as the chair was getting too uncomfortable and Cole and Dean had been sharing Dean's bed for the past hour and a half as they continued bickering about which lore websites the could use. The older Singer had been getting in contact with friends to see if anyone of them had hunted one of these bastards before and if they had any tips on actually identifying it, but so far all the attempts ended up being futile.

"This is useless, we're never gunna get anywhere if we're all just sitting here with our thumbs up our asses!"

"Bobby, we've been searching for the past-"

"No, Sam, we haven't." Bobby growled. It was quite obvious being coped up in a shitty motel room wasn't doing any of them good, especially Bobby, and considering the man had called quite a few _hundred_ or so people, the others couldn't blame the man for loosing his patience, "We've been in here using computers and phones and bitching to each other like sappy thirteen year-old girls, and I've had just about enough of it. You two," he pointed at Dean and Cole who looked puzzled, sharing a glance to each other before looking to the man, "haven't stop fighting over who gets the laptop and what sites you should look at and you haven't gotten and or found squat about this Hydusa creature." Bobby snarled. He then quickly sighed lightly, mumbling an apology for his outburst before glancing up to the twenty-something year-olds, "Look, all I'm sayin' is that this tactic clearly isn't working."

Sam nodded, closing the computer as Dean did the same, Cole shuffling from his bed and biting her lip, "What should we do then? It's not like this thing's a werewolf and by taking something silver and pressing it against their skin, we'll figure out who it is."

They all took a moment and paused, deep in thought before Sam broke the silence, "You said something about this town being abnormally happy, yeah?" When Cole nodded, he continued, "Well, if we can find someone who seems, I don't know- unhappy?- we might have some sort of lead. From there, we can track them and see if they do anything suspicious."

At first the others were skeptical about it, but eventually they all nodded in agreement. Although the idea was a stretch and the chances that they'd actually come across this monster were slim, it was the only thing they had.

Dean decided to take north, Bobby west, Sam east and Cole south. The town was awful small and seeing as they were smack in the middle of it, it was relatively easy for the hunters to split up and cover ground. Bobby was first gone, anxious to get out of the house, and then Sam, leaving Dean and Cole to themselves for a few minutes.

"Be careful, okay?" Dean said as he stuffed his pistol full of bullets and hid it in his pocket, "If you see it at all, don't go aft-"

"Dean," She cut off agitatedly.

"Look, I'm not tryna' push buttons, alright, I'm just concerned. I mean... we don't know what we're up against and I hate the fact Sammy's all by himself out there. Hell, this thing could be runnin' rampage right now looking for someone to kill and considering our backgrounds, we're not necessarily the happiest of people, Colette. All I'm saying is we're spitting-images of what this creature goes after and the last thing I need is to all the way across town if something happens to you."

Although Cole felt an aggravation in her chest to the fact he was so... demanding, bossy almost, she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity and sympathy. He was clearly against the idea of splitting up, quite obviously annoyed with the fact Sam was by himself with _no_ weapon, and concerned with the fact she'd be by herself across town with some human-puzzle maker. Deciding to keep her mouth shut though, she nodded and proceeded to stick her own gun into her belt. Just in case. Dean, now actually realizing Sam didn't have any sort of arm against the Hydusa if it were to attack, the older brother gave a short goodbye to Cole before starting out the door and calling Sam to meet him half way so he can give him a gun. For safety purposes.

And then there was one. Cole grabbed a few more things, smoothing out her clothes and grabbing a jacket before closing up the door and locking it. She was halfway down the hallway when the back pocket of her jeans began buzzing and playing music and she took it out. It had an unknown number calling but she decided to answer anyway and placed it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey! Is this Colette? Colette Singer?" A boyish but manly voice asked cheerfully.

"This is she, who's this?"

"Brian, from earlier today?"

"Oh, yeah!" She grinned before it fading almost immediately, "Now's not really a good time, is there anyway I can call you back later or..."

"Oh, um, yeah, sure. I was just wondering... if... you'd, I dunno', wanna go grab a bite tonight or..."

Smiling at his awkwardness, Cole nodded, "Definitely." Biting her lip, she swallowed, "Is tomorrow night alright? I have something later today."

"No, I understand, sure."

"Great." She grinned brightly, "Can I meet you there?"

"Of course! The burger joint, by that overly expensive bar on South Street. You know the place, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Seven-ish?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you then."

Cole smiled like an idiot as she hung up, forgetting what she was doing outside the hotel door for a minute before her mind set back into gears. Ah, yes, the hunt. Heading towards the exit, she couldn't help the bundle of nerves that unraveled throughout her body. She hadn't been asked out in ages and the idea of going on a date seemed astronomical. It was weird because Mark never officially took her out, it was more subtle than anything, so she was kind of nervous.

She was stuck in her head, her thoughts clouding anything else of importance until she was ripped from them almost instantly after turning a corner and looking left. She didn't notice it right away and had continued walking forward, but as her mind processed the image she saw, she froze. The cleaning lady, that one she'd seen days ago when she went on her run with distinctive features and red lipstick, was on her hands and knees and was sucking _up a rat_. Quickly double-taking, she was flabbergasted to find the woman was standing up straight and dusting a corner, humming to a tune played in her earbuds and not having a care in the world.

Colette was confused and dumbstruck. That long-legged lady had been _eating_ a rat! Maybe she had just seen it, Cole wasn't sure. The woman was perfectly normal now that Colette was watching her though, up on a stool and everything. It would've taken more time than a few seconds to get up there and begin dusting from the position the hunter was sure she had seen her in whilst eating a rodent.

Concluding it to be all in her head, Colette let out a quiet breath. The nerves from tonight were probably screwin' with her, that's all. Nodding in agreement to herself, she shut the entire thought off and turned to leave only for the cleaning lady to whip her head around viciously and glower. Cole gasped in shock by how quickly the woman went from zero to a hundred and quickly proceeded to walk out the hotel, not once turning back.


	8. Chapter 8

It was odd, Cole wouldn't lie. She shook her head and continued forward, not stopping until she was a good thirty paces from the hotel. Throughout the time she was investigating the south of the town, something in the back of her throat was tingling and her stomach was aching. Deciding against really giving it too much attention, she cotnued her walk around the place, asking people questions and interviewing a few so called "witnesses" of the Hydusa.

Dean smirked slightly, winking at the three women who had stopped to flirt with him oNn his way back to the hotel and glanced down at the three numbers in his hands. He'd barely even realized the time and when his phone chimed and Sam was asking where he was, he quickly checked to see the numbers on the top of the phone were six: twenty-three. Biting down on his lip, he gave a brief one-over his shoulder to the girls who waved flirtatiously back at him and he began his stroll back to the motel.

By the time he got there, Bobby and Sam were already comparing notes and the people they interviewed. Dean pulled the collar of his suit down as it had been choking him all day and loosened his tie before throwing down his own notepad of thoughts he had whilst interviewing the few he decided seemed worthy of his time. Glancing around, he turned to the men and shrugged, "Where's Cole?"

Bobby sighed heavily, adjusting the cap on his head and pointing out the window, "Parkin' lot. On the phone with her _friend_. Some guy called asking for her and gave me some fake-ass name which she knew immediately, I guess an alias or something."

Growling slightly as he immediately got the hint, Dean walked towards the window and brushed the curtain back to see Cole pacing back and forth in the parking lot with serious, furious hand gestures, and her hand raking her hair with infuriation which was clear on her face. Turning back to the guys, Dean mumbled, "She's... pissed."

"Yup," Sam sighed, "she's been out there for a good forty to fifty minutes."

Dean cracked his knuckles and nodded, tapping his foot and trying so hard to be patient before that wore thin and he swung his body around, "I'll go check on her," and before the other hunters could stop him, Dean Winchester was out the door.

"No, I- Wait a minute, you're the one who sai- Don't you turn this on me- I- Fuck yo- And you wonder why no one in your life sticks around!" She screamed into the microphone, undoubtly breaking the receiver's eardrum as a loud, angry voice echoed from the mike of her own phone. Dean got edgy quickly as he was a good ten or so yards from Cole as he leaned against the railing of the motel, her in the parking lot, and he could still hear her "friend"'s voice from there.

"Excuse me?" She snapped, "I've had it up to here with you M- _I am not done speaking, Markus_."

Even Dean looked up. The way she said it, with such ferocity and emotion, almost lethally, not only silenced the Markus dude who was obviously abusive buddy Mark, but definitely got Dean's interest. Never had he ever heard her use such a deadly tone with someone, not even in their fight, and the fact she had said it so sharply it sounded as if from a snake's mouth, kind of got his blood racing. It was slightly thrilling to him because A, Markus-douchewad was getting what he deserved, and B, he could totally picture her and him toge-

He snapped out of it. What the fuck. What the actual fuck. He shook his head, leaning onto the wall with heavier force than before as he rubbed his eyes, attempting to clear his head of the unholy mental image he'd gotten. Immediately blaming it on lack of sleep and those pretty ladies from earlier who had gotten him... excited, he tried to revert his attention back to the fatal voice of his _friend_. Just Dean's _friend_. Or at least he kept repeating in his head.

"I'm so _sick_ of your _crap_ , Markus, I mean it and I'm through with it. Don't talk to me again, don't come near me again, if you see me, don't try to associate with me again, and I hope you get the help you need for your alcohol issue. Goodbye."

Dean listened as Mark started up again, loud and obnoxious but she ended the call and pressed her hand against her forehead, looking to the ground as her eyes began to water. He couldn't see it though as her back was to him, but the motions she began to make with her arms as she wiped the stupid tears, or so she considered them, away. He furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head as he soon caught on to what was happening and swallowed. He walked down the stairs towards her and touched her arm gently, her instantly flinching and swinging around. If he weren't fast enough, he would've been hit in the face but based on the fact he'd grown up with and knew her, his hand instinctively caught her fist and brought it down. Her eyes were watered and though it was dark outside, the lights around the buildings definitely emphasized the fact her eyes were wet.

"Colette, I-"

"I'm fine, I s-swear, I just... had a rough conversation with someone from my past and I-I'm fine." She whispered quickly, not realizing he'd been listening in and dropping her head, "Go inside, it's cold, I'll be back later."

Dean tilted his head, "What?"

"I'll be back later, I'm going out." She repeated, getting slightly annoyed and just wanting to be left alone.

"Cole," He bit his lip trying to be as gentle as he could, "there's a monster out here that _feeds_ off of negative energy and practically transforms the person into glass. I'm not letting y-"

"What is with you people telling me what I can and can't do?" She snapped, "First Mark spends years, _years_ , telling me what to do and punishing me i-if I don't and th-then my dad with his bossy-a-ass attitude and I-" She broke down into her hands as she hid her face in them, "I can't-"

Colette turned away, swatting his hand when it tried to turn her back to him before she mumbled under her breath, "I'm going _out_."

And with that, she sort of walked/jogged towards her car, Dean calling after her before she jumped in, starting the engine, and raced towards the nearest bar.

The next morning, Dean was first awake out of the hunters. He'd been restless all night, on alert despite asleep waiting for the slightest of sound to jolt him from unconsciousness so he could make sure Cole was alright. Anything; a door opening, a door closing, a whimper, a laugh, the crashing sound of an alcohol bottle on the ground, car tires outside- something that'd imply she could have gotten home. As he rubbed his eyes clear of the exhaustion and fatigue that clung to his limbs as if thirty pound weights, Dean got an odd feeling in his stomach and removed his hands from his face. Too tired to think clearly and, seeing as he'd just pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes harshly to get rid of the sleepiness, his eyesight blurry, Dean shuffled out of his twin bed and dragged himself into the bathroom for a shower; more so to wake up than cleanse.

Walking in, Dean immediately turned on the shower and glanced in the mirror noticing huge, tired eyes and sighed. He stripped, wrapped a towel around his waist and then adjusted the shower, turning to the hottest it could and taking a step in. It wasn't normal and the heat of the shower was abnormal, most likely painful to the majority of humans, but Dean had gotten used to it. After Sammy had left for Stanford leaving Dean and his alcoholic-crazed father alone, Dean realized he was _alone_. Sure, he had Bobby but the old hunter was always on the move looking for new hunts and tag-teaming with his old pal Rufus. And you might even make the argument he had his father but the man was so lost in the liquor that Dean was surprised he hadn't collapsed from a liver malfunction. A doctor had even said after Dean rushed his old man into the ER one night when he went into anaphylactic shock.

Dean's father, John, had been complaining the liquor he'd been chugging for months was growing weak and needed something stronger, despite the fact the man'd been sucking on the end of a _Fireball_ bottle for those months. Dean hadn't really wanted to go any higher than Fireball as it's already pretty heavy crap and now that his father wanted something with _more_ alcohol made Dean concerned. So, balancing out his father's life with the scoldings he'd receive if he disobeyed his father's order, Dean stood his ground and refused to go out and get something more. Drunkenly, John picked a fight, swung his fist as it clashed with Dean's jaw, the younger Winchester only being twenty-three or so, and fell to the ground, and John quickly scurried out the door in search of something to satisfy his urge to brainwash him.

He'd surprisingly made it home in one piece. Dean was sitting on his bed in the shitty motel John had rented out with an icepack to his face and a scowl twisting his features. John shrugged it off, not caring much for the pain he'd caused his child as he sat back down on his bed and pressed the alcohol to his lips. The crap was so heavy in alochol, Dean didn't even recognize it. The bottle had some sort of shiny, Spanish sounding name to it but he gave up trying to figure out what type of liquor it was and watched as his father chugged it dry. Then, all at once, John fell to the ground and clutched his throat. Dean would later figure out John had an allergy to something in the alcohol, what it may being he wasn't sure, and was rushed into hospital.

Hours after the incident, Dean returned to the motel. He didn't want to stay with his father and sure as hell didn't want to answer the questions he was positive the doctors would chuck at him, so slid into Baby and flipped the key, turning her on and speeding home. As he sat on his bed that night, his feet on the ground, his elbows on his knees and his hands holding his face, he realized he was truly alone. It was too late now to leave John based soly on the fact his father had raised him so beautifully into becoming a professionally trained attack-dog, Dean _couldn't_ go. Something in his gut denied any request sent to his legs from his brain to get them moving and he found himself sitting on the bed, waiting expectantly for his father to walk through the door. He knew John wasn't leaving the hospital for quite some time, but there he sat waiting.

It angered him how much his father had impacted his life. Because of the fact Dean was so much like John, he'd lost Cole, he'd lost Sammy, and he'd probably end up losing himself because of a pride his father had taught him to have. He'd probably get himself killed talking back to a monster rather than taking the strategic way out like Sammy or Colette would do. Because unlike them, Dean couldn't help but mold into what John wanted him to be. And now John was gone too, and despite it being for a short time, it didn't make matters better. Dean had watched how simple it was for his father to be killed. Ignoring the hard exterior he had, John was just like everyone else. Hunters honored the man and thought he was one of the best of their time, but Dean knew better.

And all John Winchester was, is a vunerable alcoholic with a beer in one hand, a pistol in his other, and a bunch of nonsense spurring from his mouth.

Thoughts and feelings and emotions clouded his brain, blurred his vision, and hitched his breath to the point where he had to stand and shake it off. Seeing as that didn't work, Dean walked to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. When that cleared things up a bit, he decided to take a shower- that should calm him down. He waited a few minutes and stepped in, the warm water hitting his skin. It didn't do much though and the those agonizing thoughts came tip-toeing back into his brain, so he turned the water hotter. His hand was still twisting the knob, tilting it so far to the left it had done a three-sixty, and stopped. The boiling water hit his skin like hail, making him hiss and tense but because the heat was so soothing and welcoming as it took his mind off of the outside world and everything about it, he kept it hot.

And because of that event, Dean always turned the shower as hot as he could and would stand there, taking it. Because it proved to him he was still alive, he was still breathing and could feel. He knew the second that hot water didn't feel as painful as it typically did, something'd be wrong. He also did it because it usually took his mind off of the world around him, the world where people were slaughtered by werewolves and drained by vampires and the world where he couldn't save everyone.

So, there Dean stood, letting the hot pellets pierce his skin and burn his limbs but it didn't seem as hot as it had the first time he took a hot shower, or the second or third. He assumed over time his body had gotten use to the high temperature, but dismissed the thought as he grabbed the soap and shampoo and absentmindedly cleaned himself.

When he got out, the bathroom was filled with so much steam he had to scrub at the mirror for a few seconds before he could see himself clearly. Of course the section he wiped had fogged up after a good minute or so, but he ignored it and followed through with his morning routine before heading back out with wet hair and sweats. Sam stirred in his sleep and announced his awakening with a gasp, his arm jolting to the side in search of his brother like Sammy did when they were younger and he had nightmares. Sam, when he was a child, would always awaken with a horrific scream and throw his arm to his side, it meeting Dean's arm that always hung off the bed just in case Sam needed to grab onto it. From there, Dean would wake up and soothe him back to sleep, that sometimes meaning having Sammy share his bed with him.

With the force Sam had stabbed his arm out, his body rolled off the couch and he shot up, breathing heavily and frantically looking around. Dean was next to him in an instant and for a moment all Sam needed was to have Dean's arms around him, reminding him he was right there, and so that's what the older brother did. When he pulled away, Sam glanced at the clock and regulated his breathing again before sighing and taking the words from Dean's mouth, "Jess."

Dean nodded and guided Sam to the bathroom so his younger brother could wake himself up and in instinct from when Dean was a child, he turned to the floor to wake Cole up. Then he saw she wasn't there. Panic flooded his gut and he thought back to last night. Surely she had come home. She had to have... He tried to think and tried to remember if she had came through the door last night, but nothing came back to him. He growled deeply, running his hand through his wet hair and shaking Bobby awake. The man grunted in disturbance and swatted the twenty-six year old away, Dean murmured a curse and hissed, "You're daughter's missing."

Bobby snarled and swatted his hand away again, "No she's not, you diva, she's right there." He mustered up enough strength to lift his arm over to the couch and as Dean turned he made out the small silhouette of Cole.

Through his blind panic, Dean had failed to realize the back-cushion of the loveseat had been taken off so it could fit Cole and she and Sam had shared the loveseat for the night. The Singer sat curled in a ball with a lousy, thin blanket swung over her and a fluffy pillow Sam quite obviously gave up under her head. Bobby grumbled something under his breath and closed his eyes again as Dean stared blankly at Cole. She seemed tinier than she was when awake, vunerable and child-like. Not that she was a child in anyway, but Dean couldn't help but see the resembalance to when she was younger. She always was curled in that position when sleeping and he always found it to be one of the funniest things she'd do because she always made herself into a ball-shape and close her eyes. Now that he saw her though, matured and adult-like, he realized that it didn't seem funny anymore but cute.

He sighed heavily, deciding it was time for a coffee as his mind was clearly still half asleep and thinking absurd thoughts and shuffled to the kitchen. Dean turned on the coffee machine, getting the coffee cups and waited as it brewed, his head drifting. They'd been in Georgia for a good eleven days now and quite frankly he was getting fed up with this Hydusa case. Three more victims had been found sprinkled around their crime scenes since they'd showed up and they weren't any closer to ganking this thing than they were a few days ago.

By the time Sammy got out of the shower, everyone was awake and moving. Colette had her hair in her pony-tail, her sharp green eyes casted by thick, dark eyelashes, and a nice pair of jeans with a _Metallica_ shirt on. She was tying her shoes from the couch, glancing up and offering a short smile to Sam as he returned the gesture. Dean was hacking into the coroner's reports from the computer, his hair dry and fluffed upwards in his usual crew-cut hairstyle, plain jeans with a flannel and Dad's iconic jacket next to him. Bobby had his baseball cap on, his usual attire and was reading up on some lore and was mumbling off some curses at the book.

The entire scene made Sam chuckle. It was so... hunter-ish, like something he'd expect from a hunters' bar in Nevada or South Dakota he couldn't help but shine his grin as he threw on a shirt and flannel and looked up to the others, "So, what's on the agenda?"

Dean glanced up, "You and I are going to meet up with the coroner and take a closer look at the remaining pieces from the victims. Bobby's goin' to meet up with some old hunter buddies of his that live around here and Cole's gunna scope the town and look for anyone suspicious. Probably try to get some more information on this creature too if she can. Then, tonight I think we should all go looking for the Hydusa because it seems like the majority of the deaths are committed after sunset."

Bobby and Sam both bobbed their heads in agreement, but Cole sighed and stood, shrugging her shoulders and disagreeing, "I can't. I have plans tonight."

It was short and simple and got her point across but it also made Sam and Dean and Bobby turn. She thought for a mere second that lame answer would suffice but knowing her father and the boys she'd grown up with, she'd barely scratched the tip of the iceberg with the crap they wanted to know. Almost immediately, they were all asking questions. All three were echoeing the same questions basically, and she sighed heavily once more and shut them up, "Date. I've got a date tonight with a guy and no, he's not a hunter so don't ask and yes, I will be safe and no, I will probably not be back by ten."

They all stood dumbfounded for a second before they broke out into nonsense- Sam blabbering crap about this guy possibly being the Hydusa and how he could be unsafe, Dean arguing that it wasn't safe to even be outside with this thing running wild and the guy was probably a dick, and Bobby just down-right telling her she wasn't going. Tuning them out, Colette bent back down and continued tying her laces, humming a soft tune to herself as they all blindly argued and walked out the door once she was finished. Of course they attempted to follow her, telling her it was a stupid idea and that hunters don't _date_ but she waved them off and saluted them goodbye.

Date. What was the hell was she thinking? Dean growled softly to himself as Sam glanced over at him from the passenger's side of the car. The guy was probably a complete asshole. Was it that surfer dude? Oh god, if it was that surfer dude- Dean growled deeper, his fists clenching the wheel as his thoughts raced. She'd go out with some surfer dude that probably smoked pot every other hour and most likely didn't know what a barber was over someone like hi- someone else. _And_ , he's not a hunter! Sam had already tried dating someone oblivious to their world and looked what happened. Had she not learned anything? His fists tightened harder on the steer-wheel as he thought. What if the guy gets to handsy? What if _she_ gets too handsy? What if things escalate and they-

Dean practically swerved back into the lane, his heart thumping. Sam sat in passenger's shocked, staring at his brother with confusion. Dean had almost hit a fucking tree too lost in his thoughts to notice the world around him. Seeing his brother's gaze on him though, Dean glanced in his direction as acknowledgement and apologies for almost getting them killed and continued to drive. When Sam asked if he was alright, Dean replied with a simple, sour "Perfect," and pressed the gas harder.

"There's no good reasoning to what happened." The coroner said as he led the brothers into the lab, "Everything, their organs, their skin, it's all stone. Of course this does happen every ten years, why, I can't explain, but every ten years good people, people I know, are turned to statues."

"And have you noticed anything weird with them before they... were turned?" Sam asked as he glanced at Dean who seemed to be else where.

"Not out of the ordinary. I mean, Melissa was acting slightly strange the night before she... passed, but that was her usual self."

"Alright, well thank you anyway."

The short man nodded and headed out, telling them if they needed anything to holler, and shut the door behind him.

"The hell is wrong with you, man?" Sam asked as he glared at Dean who's eyes darted to Sam's, shocked.

"What?"

"You've been acting strange ever since this morning. What's wrong?"

"Oh, pft, nothing. Just... thinking about the case, that's all. Well, what do we have here." Dean said quickly, reverting his attention to something else in hopes he could subtly change the topic, "Human jigsaw puzzles."

Sam sighed, turning Dean around, "Dean, you need to talk to me. You almost crashed _Baby_. Y'know, your beloved and most cherished 67' Chevy Impala? Dude, to this day, besides myself, you, and Dad, no one's driven her because you refuse to let them, and you were this close to shattering her entire front exterior."

Dean waved his brother off, "I got distracted. It won't happen again, now can we get back on topic?"

"Dean, I-"

"Sam, I'm telling you to lay off."

Sam furrowed his eyebrows at his brother's defensiveness and huffed under his breath. Dean only got defensive when he was scared. Shaking his head and staring at his brother with a puzzled look, Sam let out a heavy breath and grabbed the file the corner left, flipping it open, and beginning to read. And then something happened that made both of the brothers' heads turn.

The stone pieces turned to flesh and bone.


	9. Chapter 9

Cole stood there, machete in hand as her chest rose and fell in uneven paces. She'd just came out of no where, eyes diamond-shaped like those of a deadly snake and a speared tongue that rivaled the one she assumed the Devil would have. Seeing as Cole was put on duty of scanning the town and looking for anyone out of the ordinary, her first place to check would be with that odd Miranda-Sings wannabe cleaning lady. The one with the beady, sharp eyes and abnormally bright lip-stick with long legs. Colette chose to scope her out first because A, the first time she'd seen the lady, the woman gave Cole an odd feeling, and B, Colette was sure she'd seen the maid suck up a rat.

So, sneaking into the woman's office in the hotel, she had a quick look around only to turn and see a two headed psychotic Pennywise lookin' thing running at her, jaw snapping open like a snake's as the glands that spurred the poison got ready to shoot. Quickly getting out of the way, Colette dived just in time to watch a blue liquid shoot from inside of her mouth and turn the wall it hit into a charcoaled color. Getting her machete at the ready, Cole threw a back-kick at the creature, it flying into nearby cabinet and flinging papers everywhere. The hunter took her swing, the first head rolling off and landing in a position where its thin pupils were on display and its forked tongue stuck out lifelessly.

The Hydusa wailed with pain, the sprout where her head used to be already beginning to form another one. Panicking, Colette swung her machete, it slicing into the monster's arm as it cried out, hissing and spewing blue liquid that hit the floor and furniture and walls and making everything it touched disintegrate. Assuming the creature would die altogether if her last remaining head was chopped off, despite the half-way created one right next to it, Cole launched her machete at the monster's second neck.

Something in her forearm spasmed though before it came in contact with the monster and she quickly dropped the weapon as it turned a charcoal color and she looked up at the creature's burning eyes. Her machete was now useless as if she touched it, it would turn to pieces, so her next option was to avoid being hit at all costs. Deciding that would be her next move, she dodged throws and spits from the Hydusa and attempted to find anything that would decapitate the head that was spitting toxic venom at her or something that would slow the creature down. Managing on a candle stick, she slammed the weaker side of that against the Hydusa's desk, it snapping into a spear like shape and Cole jabbed the broken metal/iron staff into the creature's healthy neck.

It squealed, grabbing ahold of the staff as yellow blood squirted everywhere and she fell limply to the ground, the broken candle stick standing straight up from her neck like a flag. The head that was three-fourths of the way created thankfully wasn't finished being made and didn't jolt the body back to life and the head she had decapitated laid in the same spot as before, except all parts of the creature were limp. Sighing heavily, she made her way out of the office and slugged her way back into her motel room to get cleaned up, seeing as the cleaning lady's headquarters were on the opposing side of the building.

Sam stared at the broken pieces of human scattered around in bags. Every single one of them, excluding a few odd bags he'd have to check out in a minute, have turned back into muscle and tissue. It now looked as if someone had just chopped up people and stuffed them into bags, instead of them being in their previous state of hard rock. Sam swallowed, turning to Dean who was staring blankly at the bags and glanced up at his brother and asked, "Didn't you read something about the pieces of stone turning back to flesh after the creature's killed?"

"Yeah, but then why are there a few bags still filled with pieces of stone?" Sam answered, bewildered.

"I don't know. But if the creature's killed, that means someone had to have killed it..." As Dean trailed off, he watched Sam's eyes light with recognition to what Dean was implying.

They stared at each other for a split second, almost in silent mutual agreement in what to do, and then quickly ran out to the car. Immediately the boys dialed the Singers' numbers, and then Dean started Baby up and sped home, the tires making screeching sounds against the asphalt at the sudden friction as the phone rested against his ear.

When Bobby answered Dean's call, the older Winchester gave out a huff of relief he didn't realize he was holding in, "Thank God."

"What're ya' calling me for? I got crap I'm doin' so this better be impor-"

"The Hydusa's dead, meaning someone had to have killed it and unless it was one of your hunter buddies, it was either you or Cole who did the deed."

The other line remained silent before Bobby swore and ended the call. Dean glanced to Sam in hopes that he was talking to Colette and things were fine, but instead there was a concerned look on his face and worried lines defining his features. "What, she's not answering?" Dean asked alertedly.

"No, she's not." Sam replied harshly, angry that his friend wasn't picking the phone.

Cole hummed to herself as she jumped out the shower, and dried her hair as best she could with the hair-towel before tying it up and leaving the cloth on her head. She wrapped a towel around her upper body and dried her face before walking out and towards her bag of clothes. The boys wouldn't be back for a few hours, so she didn't find any reason for her not to be outside the bathroom in a towel and grinned slightly at the freedom of it. When she was with Mark, she never could just walk around the motels with just a towel because he was always drinking and always there. And despite them being together for five years, they'd never once got intimate because he was constantly drinking.

Because of that, she felt uncomfortable with the thought of him seeing her bare and so resulted in never leaving the bathroom without clothes on. When they were at his house, that was a different story because there she sometimes forgot her clothes or towel and would be a daredevil and run to her room quickly. Thankfully she was never caught by Mark and to this day she's proud of that fact.

Cole shuffled through her clothes, towel wrapped firmly around her body and as she picked through shirts a thought occured to her. Even though she was alone in the motel and could easily change and get it over with, the chances of the boys busting through the door at any given moment wasn't impossible. In her book, the Winchester boys have had a bad habit in busting through her door and seeing her do private stuff like have a tea party with her stuff animals or writing in her diary. She did have to give them some credit though because when she was young and would get out of the shower, they never barged through her door in fear they'd see her changing.

But now, half way through noon, how were they supposed to know she'd be showering? Choosing to not take the risk, Colette grabbed her clothes and walked into the bathroom, shut the door and sighed lightly as she began to change.

The second Baby's engine stopped, the boys flew out of the car and into the motel. Dean called her name as he looked around, Sam walking towards the kitchen area and the closet. Before Colette could answer him though, Sam opened the bathroom door and froze as a wet-haired, Colette with jeans and a sports bra stood in front of him. He rose his eyebrows and she growled, shoving the shirt she'd chosen over her upper body. Although he was her friend, he wasn't blind and was in slight shock in what he'd seen. She knocked him out of his trance though as she scoffed and shoved his chest, "It's called knocking."

Sam couldn't help but laugh at her sarcasm as Dean rose an eyebrow at the two, "Did you walk in on her changing?"

Sam shrugged in response and she sighed, a goofy smile playing at her lips as she shook her head playfully, "Yeah, and the weirdo stared."

"Woah," He scoffed, "out of shock."

She laughed and mouthed his words in a deeper voice than her usual one, in a mockful tone and he laughed as Dean sighed. Children. The older Winchester's eyes scanned her body for any sort of injury as she huffed, "Not you too."

He rose his eyebrows questioningly before his cheeks grew slightly pink and he scoffed, "What? No. Are you hurt?" He asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Hurt? Oh, no, that thing was pretty easy. I mean it put up a good fight but with a little bit of luck I was able to- wait, how'd ya know?"

"The pieces of stone turned to flesh." Sam filled in, "And remember I read on that article once the creature dies the pieces of stone it caused turns back into its intial state?"

Putting the pieces together, she nodded and checked the time. five: twenty-three. She wanted to leave for her date with Brian at a quarter to seven which left her with approximately an hour and twenty or so minutes left. Looking back to them she shrugged, "Well, that's case closed-"

"Not necessarily." Sam piped up, "Some of the bags in the coroner's place didn't turn back."

"What do you mean?"

Sam thought for a minute and sighed, "I don't know. Dean and I can check back after you leave for your date and see if they changed back. It could've taken them a few more minutes than we'd given them to turn."

Ugh. Date. Dean mumbled under his breath something they couldn't hear or pick up on as he traced the floor with his shoe. Glancing up, he cut Sam off and asked, "Are you sure you even want to go on this date? I- Sam or I could take you out for good food anytime, it's not a problem. Plus, the faster we get everyone together, the faster we can ditch this town and head back to Bobby's."

Cole rolled her eyes, "No need to be jealous of the fact I'm getting free food, Dean. Besides, I won't be long anyway."

She smiled and walked into the bathroom to get ready and as Sam hopped onto the couch to look up some reasons the other bags may've not turned, a thought weighed down on Dean. It was the thought he wasn't jealous of the free food at all, but instead something else.

It was around ten to seven when Cole emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was done nice and she had changed into nicer, more appropriate date-clothing, but a wave of unwanted triumph hit Dean as he noticed she hadn't dolled herself up that much. Not at all really, except for the hair, and that sent a sudden rush of pride through him as he realized she hadn't dolled herself at all for this guy. He assumed only the best got to see her completely and utterly stunning, not that she wasn't without the make-up and all, and the fact she hadn't put that much effort into her appearance gave off the feel she wasn't all into the guy. And hey, Dean was a hundred percent on board with that.

"Where are you going anyway? For your date, I mean." Sam asked as she threw on a jacket.

"Just a burger joint, nothing fancy. Downtown, the one we passed to the first crime scene."

Sam nodded, but Dean deflated as his entire thought process of her not dolling herself up flew out the window. She checked her watch again and smiled at them and waved, "I should get goin'. I'll see you guys in a bit. Call if you need anything, but make sure it's important."

And with that, she was out the door leaving Sam to wonder why those other bags didn't switch and leaving Dean to marinate in jealousy and envy.

"Well then, we should probably get down to the corner's. See if those bags had changed back."

Dean nodded hesitantly and stood, his gaze lingering on the closed door before he grabbed his jacket and walked out, Sam right behind him.

It took the brothers a bit to get there, but when they did they were skeptical to go in. Red and blue flashes sirened around the corner's place, a few officers talking to the coroner himself as his hands flailed upwards in urgent gestures. Dean got out of the car first, slamming the door shut and smoothing his outfit before getting in ears-length of the conversation.

"Yeah, these two tall ones. Said they were with the FBI. When I walked out, the evidence was stone, and when I returned, they were gone and the evidence was back in human form."

Dean swallowed, getting the hint he probably wasn't wanted and quickly shuffled back towards the car. Almost immediately he was slammed against the hood of Baby, face first, and was pinned. His arms were jerked to his back and an officer with an monotonous voice restated the infamous, "You have the right to remain silent," and flipped him over once his cuffs were locked. The officer glowered, "Where's the other one?" When Dean got the message, he glanced at the passenger's seat where Sam had been only to find it empty. Assuming Sam must've gotten into the coroner's building, Dean shrugged and was shoved into a police car, supposedly being arrested for the distruction of evidence.

Sammy had snuck into the place through the back when the attention was put on Dean. He had overheard the corner and his excuse for the bags turning to flesh, instantly putting the blame on the brothers. Deciding he'd figure out how to bail Dean out later, Sam slid through the doors and into the evidence room where all the bags had been left intact from last he'd seen it. Unfortunately, they were perfectly intact. The bags that were still stone when Sam and Dean had left were still in their state and hadn't changed despite the time gap the brothers had given them to do so. Trying to think of possiblities as to why those specific few hadn't changed, Sam paused. He knew he was running out of time and that the police would barge in at any given moment, but his feet refused to move as he tried to understand. Was it a certain blood type perhaps? Gender?

The door busted open and Sam quickly fell flat on his stomach, crawling from each table of evidence until he could just make it to the door. His foot rammed into one of the folded up chairs in the corner and it made a loud crashing sound, hitting the ground and quite obviously grabbing the police's attention. Dean, from inside, heard the crash and swiftly scoped the area, noticing none of the officers were paying attention to him. The older brother, worried for his younger one, turned his body and grabbed the door handle of the police car before running out, still in cuffs, and calling for attention. All the police who'd been in the evidence room and were slowly approaching Sam's hiding spot spun at the screaming and took off through the door, running after Dean.

Sam gave out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and ran out the back, sneaking around the side of the building and waiting until all the officers had ran after Dean before trotting towards Baby and hopping in driver's. It felt odd to be in the seat his brother was always in, but disregarding the thought he turned the key and stepped on the break. One of two things would happen, either Dean would show up at the motel some point at night out of breath (Dean was an abnormally fast runner), or Sam would send Bobby to bail his older brother out of jail as if Sam did it, they'd recognize him.

It took him awhile, but he finally made it home. There were quite a few police on the road and he had to take it slow. Not to mention his brother's Impala was a pretty distinct giveaway, but somehow he'd made it back to the motel safely. Throughout his ride, he'd wasted a good forty minutes and during that time he'd thought of reasons those particular bags didn't turn back. He was truly regretting the fact he hadn't taken the time to examine the bags that were in their stone-state and instead bolted from the corner's the second he'd found out the Hydusa was dead. If he'd examined them, he would probably be able to identify how and why they were still stone. But instead, there he was in the motel, the elder hunter sleeping on his bed and Sam's head racing.

Deciding it'd be better if Dean was there to help him, Sam nudged Bobby awake and with a stiffled groan, the older man slugged his way to his pick-up and drove towards the police station. During the time it took to retrieve Dean, Sam had thought of quite a few reasonings Unfortunately, however, Sam was finding it difficult to stick with one of the ideas he'd come up with because of the fact everytime he came up with an excuse, a realization as to why it wouldn't work would shoot it down just as quickly as it came.

Bobby shoved Dean into the motel with a scoff about thirty minutes later and glowered, "Why in God's graces was Dean locked up?"

Sam gave Bobby a brief explanation, one that didn't suffice what Bobby wanted but still, he sighed heavily and nodded. Sam then went on to elaborate his issue to both of the guys and then they all found themselves staring into nothing, attempting to brainstorm.

"Maybe it had something to do with the age?" Dean asked but Sam quickly turned down the suggestion with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Already thought of it. Doesn't fit."

This happened a few more times before Dean finally growled and snapped at Sam, the two beginning to bicker before Bobby shut them up. The two returned to their spots, grumbling to themselves and sighing heavily. Eventually Bobby shrugged and grabbed his phone, dialing a number, and placing the phone to his ear. The boys looked up and a small smile plastered itself on his face as the respondent answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cole. Where'd ya leave the body?"

Colette mumbled a quick excuse to her date and stood, quickly walking over to the bathrooms and hushing her father through the phone, "You could've been a lot quieter than that Dad."

"Sorry."

Cole shrugged, "In the cleaning lady's office on the opposite side of our room. It's fairly obvious."

Bobby grinned and thanked her before hanging up. Colette smiled slightly to herself as she ended the call and peered back up at her date who sipped his drink of coke casually and ran a hand through his blonde locks. The entire night had been going so smoothly she was waiting for _something_ to screw it up. Mark walking through the door, a zombie apocalypse, meteorites from space crashing on the burger joint. She couldn't have asked for a better date and things were beginning to wind down. They'd just ordered dinner and she was sure within a half hour, they'd be finished. Cole wasn't all that thrilled about it ending, but considering he'd said he had something else planned afterwards, she couldn't help but be a bit excited.

Sam allowed the backs of his knuckles to tap the cleaning lady's room's door as Dean and Bobby waited at the ready. When no one responded, Sam allowed his muscles to ease slightly and carefully turned the knob. There, a familiar faced red-lipsticked women laid, a decapitated head laying on one side of the room and her body on the other with two heads, on being half made with a distorted nose and one eye and the other having a pole through it. Shaking their heads at the gruesome scene, they quickly began going through things in her office that may explain a few missing puzzle pieces in their case.

Bobby rolled open cabinets and Sam scowered through the desk files, but only Dean was the one to go through photos. Chucking each futile picture to the side, he quickly scanned the photos until one stopped in his momentum. A baby, barely a few hours old was crying aloud in the photo and as Dean flipped the picture over, he realized the reason the bags at the corner's hadn't changed wasn't because of blood or age or heritage but because there was another Hydusa running rampage along with his mother who laid dead and killing people. Meaning, those bags didn't switch because another Hydusa was still out there and was yet to be killed. Quickly announcing his find, he passed the picture to Sam and Bobby who flipped to the back and read a small passge the mother Hydusa had written as the older Winchester began looking through more pictures.

He came across photos of the baby growing up, into a child and then a teenager and then soon enough Dean's hand turned to iron, stopping the flow he'd created for himself of throwing useless images to the side and straining his muscles. The photo of the child was recent, recent enough to catch Dean's eye and his throat clogged as he glanced to Bobby and Sam who's breathing had clearly hitched in their own necks as well.

Colette grinned as she walked along Brian, the chill of the night seeming like a soft breeze as Brian's jacket shielded her bare skin from the cold. He was a lot taller than her, though a lot of people were, him reaching about six'-ish feet. Dean was definitely taller, Sammy practically scaling the guy and her father was probably an inch or two shorter than Brian. Comparing the Winchester boys to Brian, he seemed short, but comparing Brian to herself, he seemed gigantic. Why he hadn't noticed the boys' height until now was beyond her.

Brian had led her towards the lake she'd came across awhile ago when she was sick and had decided to go for a run. When it was daytime she'd thought the place was gorgeous but seeing it lit up at night was completely outstanding. The stars glistened against the water, reflecting it and making the streets around it glow. Lights from nearby houses brightened up the lake creating dancing shadows and colorful beams against the small waves and everything just seemed perfect. Breathing in, Cole allowed the scent of fresh water fill her nose and lungs and breathed out, for once in her life just taking a moment to take everything in. Smiling at the amazing sight, she looked up at Brian to see his reaction to the scenery. His smile was pearly and white and rivaled the water's shininess, but as she took a closer look at him, something oddly familiar clicked in her brain.

He seemed almost too perfect, just like the majority of the people around here. She guessed that the quick moment of recognition had been because he'd seemed so happy like everyone else around the town and sighed lightly as they continued walking. Cole then turned around, stopping him in his tracks as she smiled up at him, "I just... wanted to thank you for tonight. I haven't gone on something like this for awhile and I had a great time. It's been..." She trailed off as she stared into his eyes, them seeming oddly familiar before his voice caught her off guard and jerked her from her thoughts.

"It's been an amazing night." He finished for her, grabbing her hands.

Colette glanced down, getting a bit uncomfortable as something in his eye seemed off. Way off. Why she hadn't noticed it before, she wasn't sure, but she could feel her body stiffening at them. He tilted his head down and blew out a breath and for a moment a ping of worry striked her as she asked, "Is something wrong?"

He bit his lip, meeting her bright, icy green eyes with his dark blue ones and inhaled sharply before answering, "It could've been a perfect night, y'know..." He murmured into silence, reverting his eyes before they locked with hers and a ting of fear crawled up her spine as he huskily finished, "but you had to go and spear my mother with a candle-stick."


	10. Chapter 10

"Answer the damn phone," Dean snarled, deeper and with more ferocity than he had ever spoken with.

His muscles were iron, clenched so tightly he was sure they'd snap and his temper was thinning so quickly he was that close to punching someone in the face; multiple times. The guys, after realizing Brian was the second Hydusa, had shifted into blind-panic and were speeding through town like madmen. They had intially went to the burger joint, but when Cole wasn't with her _date_ , they broke off, Sam on foot, Bobby on wheels, and Dean with Baby. Dean was now driving around aimlessly, his eyes frantically scanning the roads for any statue or person or anything that resembled Colette or Brian.

His mind raced. Was she okay? Was she dead? He had no clue. His foot pressed harder on the gas, not once stopping. He probably made a few pedestrians jump out of the way of his speeding car and may've whisked pasta few jay-walkers, but he didn't really care. All he wanted was to find Colette and make sure she was safe. He snarled deeply as the monotonous voice on the other end told him to leave a message and he quickly hung up the phone, redialing her number. She had to answer. She had to be alive. Sure, they'd all known when they began hunting their lives would only end in one way; the hands of a monster, but wouldn't accept this fate for Colette. He still thought it was stupid of her to still be in the business as her intelligence could be used for so much more, but he'd never allow her to die because of some crappy-haired monster with sharp eyes.

No, Colette Singer deserved a lot more than that. She deserved more than what this case offered, what this life offered... what he offered. Cole deserved the world yet all he could picture was her probably being backed into a corner, eyes pleading as she ran out of ideas and weapons, the creature closing in.

The ponytail on the back of her head had dropped, landing more-so on the middle of her head than it had been when she first got to the burger joint. Especially now that she was running, she could feel the elastic band slipping from its grip on her hair. Soon enough her hair'll be spilled out from its containment, giving the Hydusa, Brian, that much more of an advantage. She'd gotten a good few paces ahead of him, but she knew she was running thin quickly. Her stamina wasn't as near as Dean's or Sam's. She'd seen them run before, their long legs thrusting them forward on the ground as their feet propelled them forward. Not her though. Cole, seeing as she was tremendously shorter, had smaller legs and a smaller stride. And now that her long hair was going to be flowing at any given moment, all Brian had to do was reach his hand out and grasp it, instantly dropping Cole onto her back.

Not to mention this thing was like six foot. Cole was quite surprised she'd made it this far without the thing getting too close. Her legs were beginning to strain though and the sharp wind of the night had began to settle on her skin and in her throat, making every intense inhale hurt. Her heart was ramming against her ribcage, her lungs beginning to tighten and her breath beginning to come out in wheezes. Her head was pounding horrifically and the rhymatical beat of her feet hitting the ground began to become mesmerizing. Refusing to let fatigue take over, she bolted forward, through leaves and trees and attempting to loose the beast behind her. If Colette couldn't outrun it, she'd have to postpone it. How? Throw things in front of it.

Racing towards the garbage bins and recycling cans laid around the lake to reduce pollution, Cole slammed her fist against those and knocked them over. She heard a grunt and risked a glance over her shoulder to see Brian snarling and standing up, stray pieces of paper and foil clinging to his clothes. Her eyes met his for a split second and she watched as his crystal blue eyes, the ones she thought had been so cool, narrow and the pupil thin into that of a snake's. And as she looked away and continued forward, it made sense as to why his eyes had looked so damn familiar; because they were the spitting image of his mothers.

Her joints ached and her muscles screamed with pain as the tightness in them made every stride hurt. They flared and cried, making her entire body reject the impulses sent from her brain to continue moving. Cole prayed for a rush of adrenaline, something, and only when his hand had landed on her shoulder and his other had fisted itself in her hair had the adrenaline kickstarted causing her to go into overdrive. Slamming her fist into his wrists, the Hydusa loosened his grip, not a lot, but enough to make it easier for her to slide from his clutch. She thrusted her foot into his chest, sending him to the ground as he grunted, his tongue slithering from his mouth and releasing a bone-chilling hissing sound.

Refusing to make eye-contact though, Cole trudged foward. Cardio was never a favorite of her's and as she ran and ran, she remembered why. Knowing her feet wouldn't keep this up and her muscles were about to snap at any given moment, Colette frantically looked around for something to help her. A place to hide or sneak or throw at him, maybe even kill him; just _something_.

The suspense was unbearable. Turning around once more, she yelped and dodged a glop of blue liquid that spewed from the glands inside Brian's mouth, only to then slam into a wired fence. Her leg somehow slid underneath the jagged fence and had gotten cut. Realizing she didn't have time though, Cole tugged her leg right out, screaming in the process. What she'd failed to realize was a rogue wire had planted itself in her calf muscle and when she ripped her leg free from the fence, the wire had been pulled through the skin of her lower leg, ultimately tearing it open.

He was a good forty or so yards away. She'd managed to get ahead of him after throwing a bunch of crap in his way, but she knew that this wound would definitely slow her down. Frantically scoping out the place, Cole's eyes zeroed in on two boulders that were placed perfectly in between a long line of stores, meaning Brian'd have to go around the strip mall in order to get her because there was no way in hell he was fitting through that gap. She didn't even know if she'd fit through it, but she was definitely willing to take the chance. She took off sprinting, or at least jogging as fast as she could, and soon found herself right at the edge of the rocks. Cole twisted herself sideways and began to shuffle through only to jump when a hand grasped her shoulder tightly.

She looked over, sure to not look in the eyes, and batted his hand away. Brian's grip, however, was stuck purely on her jacket and she decided to just leave it and slid right out of the piece of clothing, beginning to shuffle farther into the crevice. He growled, holding the jacket to himself as he tilted his body and looked at the gap. There was no way he was getting through that. Backing up, he looked at the span of the stores and snarled. It'd take him awhile to get around the stores and to where she'd be, but he was set in his goal of turning his _date_ to stone.

He was about to take off when the entire jacket in his hand buzzed. Furrowing his eyebrows, Brian stuck his hand in its pockets and retreived a phone. The caller ID was labeled Dean and Brian grinned as he answered the phone, "Hello, Dean."

"Co- You son of a bitch."

"You've got quite a mouth on you, Winchester. I've heard a lot about you."

"Well, congradulations. Now, you listen to me, _buddy_ , if I find Colette anything _but_ healthy, I swear to God I'll tear you apart limb by limb."

Brian chuckled, taking the phone from his ear and placing it to his lips before he whispered menacingly, " _If_ you find her, that is."

And with that, Brian hung up the phone, dropping it with ease to the ground along with the jacket before beginning his run around the buildings. It was set in stone in his mind that Colette would be killed and his mother would be avenged and anyone who dared to stop him will end in the same fate Cole will.

Sam carried Cole across the road and towards a bunch of bushes, placing her down and examining her wound. She'd ran into him after getting through the rocks and practically falling on top of the younger Winchester. He now was attempting to hide them, at least long enough for him to do a simple first-aid on her leg, and was muttering curse words. He threw off his flannel wrapping it around her leg and causing her to hiss with pain before he called Bobby and told them their location. Not seconds after he'd done this did a looming shadow darken the light radiating from the sky and Sam was grabbed by the color and punched.

Brian laughed as Sam stumbled backwards, grabbing his nose and realizing it was bleeding. Snarling, the two began throwing punches and kicks, Sam swinging his machete he'd brought alone with him and Brian gracefully dodging all the blows. Bobby's truck revved into view and Colette watched as her father jumped from the car, grabbing a stake, and racing towards the collage of fists and feet. Brian snarled deeply, seeing he was out-numbered and didn't have a physical weapon and quickly began growing a head as his eyes went all Medusa on the hunters and he began spitting out the blue toxins.

Brian's fist clashed with Bobby's cheek, sending the older hunter to the ground. The Hydusa then swung at Sam's ankles and snarled as the boy fell to the ground, swinging the machete in the process and slicing open the monster's arm. He squealed with pain and anger, a third head forming as the second one opened its eyes and hissed aggressively at the two fallen men. Sam managed to scoot away from the Hydusa's grasp and quickly dialed Dean's number as he panted heavily, Bobby distracting the beast and avoiding the saliva at all costs.

The older Winchester had just rounded a corner, almost bashing into the traffic light in the process, when his phone rang. Immediately grabbing it, Dean snarled into the mike and began his rant, assuming it to be Brian before he realized it was Sam. When Dean heard his younger brother's voice laced with exhaustion and fear, Dean went on alert, and when Sam said he had Colette and the Hydusa's location, Dean went on over-drive. Dean made a deadly U-turn causing another guy in a Toyota to swing his car out of the way so Baby could race through and sped towards the lake where Sam said he was with Cole and Bobby, unfortunately with the monster too.

Colette sat there helplessly, the gash pouring blood from her calf and making her lower leg feel asleep, numb. Pain seared through it, aching through every muscle and nerve and vein and ligment in the lower part of her limb cry out with such distress, Cole had to bite her mouth shut to not let out whimpers. Not to mention she felt utterly helpless and useless as her father and best friend charged at this thing aimlessly, weaponlessly. Bobby's stake and Sam's machete had been easily tossed to the side by the monster and they were now playing a tag-game, except the tagger had venom that could turn them to pebbles in seconds. Not to mention, Brian had created two more heads making the odds of winning the game tilt forever in his favor, each with a forked tongue like his mother and snake eyes. That's what she recognized from the burger joint; the snake eyes.

Sam and her father had tried their hardest not to look into the creature's eyes but it was so damn hard seeing as the thing was also spitting blue venom at them. They had to know what its next move was, where it would be spitting next, but they couldn't just watch its body language and positioning of its face as if they did, their bodies would turn as fragile as hardened pulled sugar. Sitting there wasn't helping much at all, so she dragged herself to a nearby tree and forced herself to stand, snapping off a thick branch and beginning to tear off the extra smaller twigs. A pair of hands slid around her waist and held her upwards, startling her as she quickly swung around and went to elbow the person and or monster in the jaw. The man had quick reflexes though and caught her elbows with his large hand, tsking under his breath as he grumbled, "Your leg's bleeding."

Immediately recognizing the voice, she eased into the grip and leaned against his chest for support as her mouth hissed out a response, "Yeah."

Dean glanced at the fight from his location with Cole, watching as Sam distracted the beast and Bobby gave it a few punches from behind and concluded they would be good for a few seconds. Turning his attention to Colette, Dean moved her and placed her down so she was sitting and snarling deeply at the wound on her leg. Though Sam had wrapped it, the flannel was caked in blood and was sopping and in the moment, Dean felt a punch of disappointment fill his chest as he knew there wasn't much he could do for her. So, deciding the best thing he could do was replace the flannel, he took off his own layer and swaped it with Sam's, throwing the bloodied one to the side and telling Cole to stay put.

When Dean turned around though, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped. The scene from before had completely altered, completely switched and it was now the Hydusa who had the upper hand, rather than Sam and Bobby. When the older brother had looked to Cole, the hunters were winning the fight, but as Dean stared at what lied in front of him, he realized the tables had catastrophically changed. Bobby was on the ground behind the creature grasping his chest and heaving for breath with a black eye and broken nose and Sam laid in front of the monster, his shirt torn wide open with gashes from the Hydusa's nails and was groggily regaining consciousness.

Dean watched in horror as all three of the Hydusa's mouths opened in unison, their tongues sticking out and their glands getting ready to shoot at Sammy who lied there helplessly and weakly. The state Sam in reminded Dean of when they were younger and little Sammy was extremely sick. Dean had tried everything in his power to make his younger brother feel better, and though it took a few days, he started healing. An urge in his stomach caused Dean to kickstart into action and cause his muscles to tighten throughout his body.

"Sam!" Dean shouted, catching the attention of the Hydusa as its mouth closed slightly in a change of attention, and charged for his younger brother.

Dean tackled Sam, rolling the twenty-two year old out of the way and huffing as he stood. He immediately turned to face the creature that dared to touch his brother, locking eyes with it, and instantly feeling everything harden. The last thing he heard was Sammy cry out his name as the younger brother watched his older one turn to stone. Colette screamed out her protest, calling Dean's name as she covered her mouth in shock, a new found fury igniting in her stomach.

The attention of the Hydusa was thankfully on Sam and so Cole sharpened the piece of wood she had broken from the tree over and over, faster and faster, until it seemed sharp enough. From there, she slid the stake towards her father who breathed ailly and took it gratefully, standing up weakly and sneaking behind the beast, swinging the piece of wood back, and stabbing it right through the middle head. The other heads on either side of the now dead one screamed in pain and swung to face the man who dared to attack them, only for Sam to jolt up with adrenaline and slice every head off cleanly with the machete.

All three heads tumbled to the ground and soon the body followed, Cole limping towards Dean's body as Sam glanced in Bobby's direction, the older Singer giving a feeble thumbs up, and then turning his attention to his stone-cold brother, silently crossing his fingers and praying Dean would become human again. The tension rose when nothing happened and the minutes that passed began to feel like hours. Colette's fists clenched as she yelled at him to wake up, Sam's eyes beginning to water as he walked over to the statue and went to shake his arm, only to realize the entire thing was too heavy to move. The two younger hunters began calling out Dean's name, screaming it and telling him to snap out of it as Bobby watched heartbrokenly. Dean had to wake up, had to snap out of it... he just had to.

When he finally did, the hard, stone exterior crumbling around him and Dean tumbled forward, Sam shot his arms around his brother and drew him close, breathing deeply and closing his eyes. Colette let out a sob of relief and pressed her hand to her chest to slow it down, reverting her eyes from the brothers and breathing deeply to calm herself down. That was close, too close. Dean returned the hug to his brother with just as much force, thankful himself and Sammy were okay and that this fucking thing was finally dead.

Noticing Colette a few feet away trying to calm herself down, Dean pulled away from Sam and grinned before turning to Cole. Sam smiled brightly, inhaling sharply and motioning towards the body and heads as Bobby and himself began to move them to the back of Bobby's truck. The second Dean said hi, her arms wrapped around him tightly, holding him as tightly as she could to herself and pressing her head to his chest. His heartbeat was fast and strong which caused her to smile because seconds ago, it wasn't even there. It took a few moments, but Dean's arms wrapped around her and squeezing with just as much force before he rested his head on her own and took in an uneasy breath. He then chortled to himself and whispered, "So, how'd your date go?"

She pulled away to see his signature grin plastered on his face and chuckled. "You know, I've been on better. The food wasn't all that good."

Dean laughed slightly before watching the two other hunters have difficulties getting the body into the truck and sighed. He led Cole towards Baby, getting a towel and placing it on the backseat so Cole didn't get blood everywhere before he helped her in and then closed the door. It took a few tries, but the three male hunters managed to get the body and three heads into the back of the truck and Bobby agreed to meeting them back at the motel after he dumped the remains.

Packing their things up was a hustle as Cole was limping around like an old dog, Bobby kept telling everyone where everything went, and the brothers couldn't help but bicker. By the time they'd finish getting all their crap back into their bags, it was two and a half hours past the time they wanted to go. Money was still an issue that was breathing down their necks and Cole had spent a good hour before hand calculating the precise time they should leave so they could make it back to South Dakota in less than four days and spend little money, but considering the were a few hours off, those calculations didn't really matter. Fortunately, Mr. Brian Matler was a very wealthy man and offered the hunters four hundred dollars after his passing. Sighing lightly and doing a few math equations in her head, Colette guessed the four hundred would suffice for the three of them.

Bobby, awhile before they began packing, told the three they should head back to his junkyard and look for a new case and to not wait up for him. On his way back to South Dakota, he had promised a few friends he'd stop by their place to help with their cases so he wouldn't be back at his house for a good four to five days after the younger hunters go there.

Making sure everything was where it should be and everything was packed, Bobby waved goodbye and told the boys to watch out for his girl before he hopped in the truck and drove off. Dean grunted as he shoved the final guns into the back of his impala, closing the trunk and letting out an exhausted breath before hopping in the driver's seat. Sam offered to drive but Dean shook his head. It was clear the stone-thing had taken a lot out of the man but neither Colette or Sam said anything. Instead, Dean started the car and drove onto the road, the headlights of Baby lighting the road ahead in the darkness, some of Dean's rock music softly playing in the background, and a comfortable silence settling on them. Sam rested his head on the cold glass of his window and soon falling asleep, the soft snoring of the younger Winchester becoming so rhythmatical it put Cole to sleep.

Before she fell asleep though, it dawned on her that she was falling asleep in the _Winchesters'_ car. One side of her reminded her of the promise she'd made to herself, that she'd leave the second the case was over, but then the other side of her told her to forget about the stupid promise, that over the course of the month she'd realized these dumb idiots were her friends. Her family. And as she fell asleep, she altered her promise. That no matter what happened, she'd never leave. Because over the course of the week and a half they'd been here, she realized that she didn't need Mark or alcohol or anything else she relied in the past. It had occured to her that all she really needed was those idiotic Winchester brothers and her father.


End file.
